LAHORE: The Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Center (PKLI&RC) has successfully performed cadaveric kidney and liver organ transplants on two patients.

The health facility claims that it is a milestone for any public sector institution in Punjab.

The liver and kidney grafts were transported initially by helicopter from Abu Dhabi to Dubai where the UAE Organ Donation and Transplantation team and the UAE ministry of health team airlifted the two organs in a specially hired five-seated commercial jet to hand over them to the PKLI&RC transplant team in Lahore.

Feroz Khan of Gujrat and Abdul Hayi of Vehari underwent cadaveric kidney and liver transplants at the PKLI on Dec 10 last. “The first successful surgeries have opened a new era of deceased or cadaveric organ transplant surgery in Punjab. We have made a history by performing first cadaveric kidney and liver transplant in any public sector hospital,” Punjab Health Minister Prof Dr Yasmin Rashid said here on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, she said both the recipients had made a remarkable recovery which was a result of coordination and teamwork.

Senior surgeons Prof Dr Faisal Dar and PKLI Medical Director Dr Najmul Hassan Shah and the patients were present on the occasion.

Prof Yasmin said more than 20 teams of surgeons and other medics from both the UAE and Pakistan worked day and night to ensure perfect matching of the donors and recipients. She thanked the UAE government for their efforts to procure and to make arrangements for transporting life-saving organ donations to Pakistan.

Dr Najmul Hassan Shah admired the efforts of the family of the Pakistani young man whose organs were donated after his brain death on the ventilator to save lives of the two patients. The young man was hospitalised in the wake of a terrible road accident in the UAE.

“No words can ever be enough to thank this young man and his family for this noble cause and our whole team members would make sure his gift becomes a constant source of inspiration for us in developing a system where many more lives can be saved by setting up cadaveric organ donation program in Pakistan,” Dr Shah said.

Moreover, he said, a collaboration had been signed between the UAE organ donation & transplantation team with the support of the UAE government and the Punjab government for setting up organ donation program.

In addition, the PKLI is all set to start a bone marrow surgery and has planned to include Sehat Insaf card services in kidney and liver surgeries for patients’ ease, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2022