Form central registration authority: Experts

Health experts have suggested forming a central registration authority to govern kidney donation and transplantation, as kidney disease has become a major concern in the country.

The function of the authority will be to maintain names and database of all kidney donors, their heirs and recipients, supervise the institutions conducting transplantation, and handle the affairs between donors and recipients.

The recommendations came at a discussion titled “Kidney Transplantation in Bangladesh: past, present and future” organised by Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GSK) at the capital's Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital yesterday.

According to an official estimate, there are some two crore kidney patients in the country. Of them, some 40,000 become end-stage kidney patients every year, while some 30,000 people die, failing to have kidney transplants or dialysis.

However, ten public and private hospitals presently conduct transplantation of 130 kidneys a year, while 1,000 Bangladeshis go abroad for kidney transplantation, doctors said.

“We estimate some Tk 300 crore is smuggled out of the country for kidney transplantation,” said Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, founder of GSK.

There is a demand of at least 10,000 kidney transplantations a year in the country, but the shortage of kidney donors makes it impossible as Human Organ Transplant Act-1999 restricts kidney donors only to close relatives -- son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, paternal and maternal uncle and aunt, husband and wife.

Dr Zafrullah said the law should be amended to allow all voluntarily donate kidneys, while there has to be a system to stop kidney trading.

The central registration authority will work in this regard and make sure the donors have incentives from the state and priority healthcare for the rest of life, he added.

Dr Kamrul Islam, managing director of Center for Kidney Diseases and Urology Hospital (CKD), said in the developed countries, 60 percent of the end-stage kidney patients have kidney transplants.

In Bangladesh, cost of a kidney transplant is only Tk 1 lakh to 2.5 lakh, while in corporate hospitals it is Tk 6 lakh to 10 lakh. In other countries, including India, Singapore and Sri Lanka, the cost is much higher.

Dr MA Wahab suggested introducing donation of kidneys of the brain dead.

Brain death is the complete and irreversible loss of brain function, which may be caused by accidents. In such condition, organs like kidney of that person can be transplanted upon those needing it.

In medical university and divisional level medical college hospitals, there should be medical teams to determine brain death, he said.

Lawyers Manzill Murshid and Elena Khan suggested advocating for amendment to the Human Kidney Transplant Act and creating awareness on kidney donation.

Aliul Asif, 27, who donated a kidney to his mother when he was 20, said he required some medication in the first three months and then he faced no physical problems.

Marufa Islam, a kidney recipient, said she is physically fine, but needs medicines worth Tk 16,000 per month. She urged authorities to lower medicine price for kidney patients.

The GSK awarded Prof Kamrul Islam of CKD and Prof Harun Ur Rashid of Kidney Foundation with crests for their contribution to the treatment of kidney patients.

Professor of Gono Bishwabiddalaya SA Hafiz, Nephrology Prof Toukir Karim, Society of Urologists President SA Khan also spoke at the discussion chaired by Gono Bishwabidyalay Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Laila Parvin Banu.