Posthumous kidney transplant in the offing

The Society of Organ Transplantation and Kidney Foundation will arrange kidney transplantation from brain-dead patients in intensive care units of different hospitals, for the first time in the country, from next Tuesday.

The transplants would continue from January 28 to February 4, as part of their attempt to promote safe and ethical kidney transplantation.

Prof Dr Harun Ur Rashid, founding president and chief consultant of Kidney Foundation, made the announcement in a press conference at Jatiya Press Club yesterday.

“If we could initiate deceased donor organ transplants, dependency on live donors would decrease rapidly,” Dr Sheikh Moinul Khokon, coordinator of the programme, told The Daily Star.

Initially, intensive care units at the Institute of Neuroscience and Hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Birdem General Hsopital have joined the programme, supported by Bangladesh Renal Association and Bangladesh Association of Urological Surgeons.

“Many kidney patients in need of transplantation cannot do so due to lack of donors. If deceased organ donation could be initiated, many people would be benefited. It will discourage kidney selling also,” Tiny Ferdous Rashid, managing director of the foundation told The Daily Star.

Prof Kanak Kanti Barua, vice chancellor of BSMMU; and Prof Habibur Rahman Dulal, general secretary of the Society of Organ Transplant, were present at the press conference, among others.

In Bangladesh, around two crore people suffer from kidney diseases each year, according to the Kidney Foundation. Some 40,000 suffer from complete kidney failure and only 20 percent of them receive treatment.