Call for promoting disease prevention plan

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Kh Salman Rafique has said population explosion has resulted in the spate of diseases in society. The government and the medical experts should jointly work to promote disease prevention programme.

“The setting up of Pakistan Kidney & Liver Transplantation and Research Institute is no less than a miracle. This institution will not only provide treatment and plantation facilities of liver and kidney diseases but will also emerge as a research based institution in coming years,” the minister said while addressing a seminar at a local hotel under PKLI on World Kidney Day.

The minister said treatment facilities are being increased in the province for kidney patients and for that purpose, along with establishment of new institutions, the number of dialysis machines is also being increased. He said body parts donation is gained from a living donor in Pakistan while cadaveric transplantation is being promoted in Spain and other countries.

He said necessary legislation will be carried out about cadaveric transplantation in consultation with all stakeholders and the support of international bodies will also be arranged so that after death donation of human parts could be promoted.

He said draft amendments in the laws of Punjab Human Organs Transplantation Authority has been prepared for ensuring easy availability of donation of kidney and liver in the province. It has been recommended to include close relatives of both maternal and paternal families of the patients for the purpose of human organs donations and necessary legislation will be done soon in this regard. Various medical experts including Dr Abdul Rauf Mazhar, Dr Irfan Kundi, Dr Imran Jamil and Dr Aamir Yar Khan addressed the seminar and talked about reasons for not functioning of kidneys as Pakistan is included in the list of countries where kidney-stone disease is very common. They gave various proposals to remain safe from kidney disease.

uplift schemes: The Punjab government Thursday approved wastewater and surface water treatment plants for Lahore at an estimated cost of Rs2.953 billion.

The project was approved in a special meeting of Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) of current fiscal year presided over by P&D Chairman Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan. The approved development scheme included: Land Acquisition and Construction of Boundary Wall for construction of wastewater treatment plants at Mehmood Booti, Shad Bagh and Shahdara and construction of surface water treatment plant at BRBD Canal, near Ravi Syphon, Lahore at the cost of Rs2.953 billion.