Gambat institute completes 1,000 successful liver transplants

Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jeelani Institute of Medical Sciences Gambat (Gims) has reached a significant milestone by not only performing 1,000 successful liver transplants but also performing the first-ever combined kidney and living donor liver transplant in Pakistan.

The health institute has also performed the first-ever living donor liver transplant for an HIV-positive patient in the country, and the first-ever ABO-incompatible liver transplant in Pakistan. It has also conducted swap liver transplants, auxiliary liver transplants and paediatric liver transplants.

“Currently Gims is the largest liver transplant programme in the country, and is heading towards becoming the largest liver transplant programme in the world,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said while addressing an online gathering, with Gims Director Dr Rahim Bux Bhatti, that was held to commemorate the milestone.

The chief executive said that this historic achievement, marking numerous complicated liver transplant procedures, has been successfully carried out at a public sector health facility in the country.

Of the 1,000 liver transplants performed at Gims, 460 patients were from Sindh, 347 from Punjab, 141 from Balochistan, 36 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Kashmir and four from Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari always proudly lauds Gims’ achievements. “I’m quite happy and content that our Gambat institute serves everyone free of charge.”

The patients who attended the ceremony included Mutahira, 8, from Afghanistan; Nasir Ali, 44, from Hafizabad, Punjab; Mohammad Nawaz, 56, from Jacobabad; Saleemullah, 18, from Kark, KP; and Habibullah, 14, from Jafarabad, Balochistan. The CM interacted with the patients, and wished them a healthy and happy life.

The significant milestone of 1,000 successful liver transplants was commemorated by Dr Bhatti, his team members, and the patients at the Department of Liver Transplantation cutting a cake.

The liver transplant department was established at Gims in January 2016, with the first transplant being performed that April. Initially international surgeons from Germany and other countries conducted these surgeries. Over time the institute developed its in-house team of experts, led by Dr Abdul Wahab Dogar, that now handles all transplant procedures.

Dr Bhatti is credited with the vision and realisation of this advanced medical facility, which serves as a model for the country and a monument of humanitarian efforts.

“The transplants are provided at no cost to patients, funded by the Sindh government, in turn alleviating the financial and logistical burdens previously associated with seeking treatment abroad,” Shah said.

The success rate of liver transplants at the institute is reported to be 90 per cent, comparable to rates in developed countries, Dr Bhatti told the CM.

He added that the hospital, equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, also performs other transplants and treats a variety of diseases, positioning itself as a leading healthcare institution in Asia.

The online event was also attended by Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif and Health Secretary Rehan Baloch.