As of December last year, there have been some 200 patients receiving dialysis treatment for kidney failure, which has led to the need for more kidney transplant surgeries to be done at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC).
Dr Boland Persaud
As such, Dr Boland Persaud, who is attached to the Transplant and Vascular Surgery Department at the GPHC, revealed that the hospital will be constructing a transplant lab to facilitate cross-matching for transplant patients.
“We’re actually working on getting our own transplant lab to facilitate cross-matching,” Dr Persaud said.
He made this revelation on Friday at a conference held at the GPHC to highlight the fighters and survivors of kidney failure.
At present, GPHC officials are working on obtaining the necessary equipment for the lab so that they can conduct the various testing needed. Dr Persaud shared that there are persons who are currently in training to administer the proper treatment to transplant patients. However, none of them are Guyanese.
“There are provisions that are made so someone can go to prepare their students, so someone can come back to prepare the lab. We’re working on getting the necessary equipment to do the testing, so I’m not sure all in all when that’s going to be available […] We don’t have any Guyanese, but we have support from overseas who are willing to come help,” he said.
With the recent passing of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Bill 2021 at the 35th sitting of the National Assembly in January this year, a transplant lab would further facilitate and enable persons to undergo transplant surgeries in Guyana, without having to leave the country. The Bill will pave the way for the setting up of an agency and a registry that will manage the transplant of human organs in Guyana.
Bill crafted
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony had explained that the Bill was crafted with input from local and international medical experts and that it follows the revised World Health Organisation (WHO) Guiding Principles on Human Organ Transplantation.
In fact, he explained that all thirteen of the guidelines are reflected in the various sections of the Bill. These principles include ensuring a separation between physicians who treat patients and who harvest tissue, avoiding the harvesting of tissue from minors except for exceptional circumstances, and the avoidance of monetary payments or other rewards for donations.
According to Anthony, special safeguards will be established for all donors who wish to donate organs, but particularly for minors. This includes minors only being able to give consent to remove a regenerative organ. And to manage these safeguards, an organ transplant agency will be set up.
“This Bill will establish a human organ and tissue transplant agency, which will oversee all future transplants of cells, biofluids, tissues, and organs in Guyana. A national donor and transplant registry will be established to manage the process effectively,” Dr Anthony had said.
Cross-matching is a test performed before a blood transfusion as part of blood compatibility testing. Normally, this involves adding the recipient’s blood plasma to a sample of the donor’s red blood cells. Currently, Guyana does not offer this type of testing; cross-matching is done overseas, which takes up time and is costly.
Once the lab is fully functional, it is expected to save numerous lives and reduce the high cost for patients on dialysis. (G2)
