A LAW that will allow kidney transplants to be carried out in Fiji is with the Solicitor-General’s office.
Health Minister Jone Usamate said the move was welcomed by the Kidney Foundation of Fiji.
Administrator Pushp Chand said this was an achievement because without that legal entity, kidney transplant could not be performed in Fiji.
The move, Mr Chand explained, would also allow them to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Land Transport Authority to have the kidneys of accident victims preserved so they could be used by kidney patients in the country.
“We welcome the move and this is the right way to address the issue,” Mr Chand said.
“We have also asked if Government could subsidise the cost so that the rate of dialysis could go down. We have already made submissions to the Health Ministry if this can be part of next year’s budget for the cost of labour and consumables.”
In a presentation at the country’s first Nephrology Symposium last week, general practitioner and former health minister Dr Neil Sharma said Fiji lacked the manpower to perform this exercise in the past few years and there had been a collaboration between the public and private partners to ensure this worked out.
“For patients who need long term dialysis, they are offered kidney transplant and this currently cost $35, 000 to $50, 000 where the Health Ministry supports the patient and the donor to go across to India because that is the most economical way of handling it at present,” Dr Sharma said.
“Fiji did not have the manpower these previous years, the theatres and the laws governing organ transplantation so additional operating theatres have been built at the CWMH.
“As part of our public and private partnership with international organisations, our people have been trained abroad and the local labs need to be strengthened to be able to undertake this surgery at a lower cost for our people who suffer from end stage kidney disease (ESKD).”
Dr Sharma is part of a team comprising specialists from the ministry and general practitioners who have been working together in the hope of having kidney transplants conducted in Fiji.
Dr Sharma said the groundwork was done and they would also need to ensure that they continued to train people, updated their lab and worked with their overseas partners.
