KGMU in Lucknow to resume its kidney transplant facility soon

In an attempt to augment the public healthcare infrastructure in the city, King George Medical University in Lucknow is all set to restart its kidney transplant facility, soon. On Wednesday, the Department of Medical Education in Uttar Pradesh handed out the licence to conduct kidney transplants at KGMU. According to reports, this facility at KGMU is expected to become functional from April.

Transplant unit to be set up under the Nephrology Department

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At present, only two government hospitals namely, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Lohia Institute offer kidney transplant services in Lucknow. Due to the scarcity of government hospitals, these two institutes face a high patient load thereby creating a long waiting list.

Witnessing a waiting period of 4 to 6 months, patients who need an immediate transplant are forced to take up this medical procedure at private hospitals that cost lakhs of rupees. In view of this scenario, the KGMU administration had applied for a licence to start this kidney transplant service.

The director of the Nephrology department Dr. Vishwajeet along with Dr. Lakshay Kumar and Dr. Medhavi Gautam will lead the transplants at KGMU. According to reports, the upcoming transplant unit will be run under the guidance of experts at PGI and Lohia institute.

8 patients to get the kidney transplant in the first phase

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Notably, KGMU started offering kidney transplant services in 2014, however, it was later discontinued due to some unsuccessful cases and the absence of expert staff. The Department of Medical Education has now granted a five-year licence to KGMU to resume kidney transplant services.

In the first phase of the operations, the transplant facility will only be offered to chronic patients, informed the hospital administration. As per reports, the institute has already finalised 8 patients who will get the transplant done at KGMU in the first phase.

While talking about the department, Dr. Vishwajeet revealed that every day, more than 100 patients with kidney-related problems visit the Out Patient Department of KGMU. At present, there are 17 machines that are used to offer dialysis to kidney patients. Around 55-60 patients use the dialysis facility on a daily basis.