The Sindh government has approved the provision of Rs145 million to the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) for conducting 50 liver transplants free of charge in the current fiscal year, officials said on Friday.
“The Sindh government has asked the Dow University to perform 50 liver transplants free of charge at its Ojha campus by the end of June 2022, for which it has approved Rs145 million,” an official of the Sindh health department told The News.
The DUHS resumed its liver transplant program in 2019 when it approached Pakistan’s leading liver transplant surgeon Dr Faisal Saud Dar to supervise the complicated surgeries, and so far 17 liver transplantations have been carried out by surgeons at the Ojha campus of the medical varsity.
Confirming the development, DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Saeed Quraishy said the health department would provide Rs145 million for 50 free of charge liver transplants by June 2022, and the university would commence these surgeries as per recommendations of the department next month.
“So far, our team of liver transplant surgeons has performed several dozen liver transplants, of which 17 have been performed under the supervision of Dr Faisal Saud Dar, who is the dean of the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI), Lahore,” he said.
Prof Quraishy noted that the success rate of liver transplant surgeries at Dow University was over 95 percent and added that under the supervision of Dr Faisal Saud Dar, their team has even performed Pakistan’s first auto-transplantation of liver and added that the patient was living a normal life since the procedure.
“Our team of liver transplant surgeons is comprised of lead surgeon Dr Jahanzeb Haider, Dr Kiran Naz, Dr Muhammad Iqbal and three others. This is a highly trained and killed team of youngsters, who are performing liver transplant surgeries with utmost sophistication.”
The vice chancellor maintained that they were already performing liver transplants at highly subsidised rates as most of the patients approaching them for the transplant surgeries could not afford the costly treatment. He added that following the provincial government’s support, the most deserving patients would be able to avail the surgical treatment.
To a query, he said a liver transplant surgery costs between three and four million rupees if the procedure goes without any complication. He added that with the help of Rs145 million, they would hopefully be able to perform upto 50 liver transplants by June next year.
An official of the health department said that meanwhile, as per the laid down criteria, the department would send patients to the Dow University for liver transplants following a thorough assessment through medical boards.
They said that currently, only the Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Khairpur was performing free of charge liver transplant surgeries, but after the provision of Rs145 million to the DUHS, two institutes in Sindh would be conducting free of charge liver transplant surgeries in the country.
The coordinator for the Liver Transplant Unit and member of the DUHS Syndicate, Dr Saad Khalid Niaz, thanked the CM for the provision of Rs145 million to the DUHS, saying he had personally requested the CM to provide the money so that free of charge liver transplant surgeries could be performed for the needy and deserving patients.
“Around 8,000 patients need liver transplant surgeries due to liver failure or liver cancer annually in Pakistan. Most of these patients can’t afford the costly treatment. Because of the Sindh government’s program, patients can now avail the facility of liver transplants free of charge in Karachi too,” he added.