PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Transplant Regulatory Authority (MTRA) on Thursday vowed to strictly follow rules in removal, storage and transplant of human organs, tissues and cells for therapeutic purposes.
The pledge was made at a meeting of MTRA which was held with its chairman Mohammad Abid Majeed, who is also Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Health, in the chair.
Besides other issues, the authority decided that health facilities and transplant surgeons wanted to conduct transplant procedures within their facilities would need to get themselves registered with MTRA.
The authority in February this year accorded recognition to the Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKD) for kidney transplantation and cleared for provisional registration RMI and Northwest for kidney transplant procedures.
About cornea transplant, it was decided that both the health centre and the transplant would need to register themselves with MTRA.
The MTRA has established a provincial registry and regional networks to evaluate quality and outcome of the health centers where transplant procures are undertaken.
“We suggested some solutions like for cornea conditions will be far less than kidney etc. We gave approval to MTRA to issue provisional registration in cornea urgently to those fulfilling requirement,” Abid Majeed told The News when approached for his comments.
Some of the surgeons wanted to exempt transplant surgeon from registration when conducting transplant procedures in a registered centre but most of the members didn’t agree to this argument.
A four-member scrutiny committee was approved in the meeting that would beforehand scrutinise need for the transplant in patient so that it is not done without any chance of success. “It will be a good check on unnecessary transplants,” said the secretary health.
The four-member committee will comprise transplant surgeon of that hospital (whichever registered), transplant surgeon from outside that hospital, ophthalmologist who does not do transplant to ensure an independent person and coordinator of that hospital so it will be different for each hospital doing cornea transplant.
Also, Abid Majeed said they will not wait till cornea comes. “They will examine all desirous patients in advance the moment they give registration fee and register their transplant surgeons with MTRA,” he said.
