Kidney patients requiring transplant can heave a sigh of relief, as government has moved to support the provision of kidney transplantation in-country, at a reduced cost.
A team of local medical doctors trained on the procedure have already undertaken first few transplantations at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
The feat is expected to gradually end the reliance on expatriate surgeons to perform such surgeries or referring patients to countries including South Africa, India and Singapore for kidney transplantation at a higher cost.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who made the disclosure during his presentation of the 2024 budget statement before Parliament said, a 100-bed ultramodern Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence would soon be commissioned at the KBTH to facilitate the provision of kidney transplantation services in the country.
Touching on other health matters, the minister assured that the contractor working on the 160- bed La General Hospital, would resume work next week.
He said efforts are ongoing to integrate the Ghana Card into enrolment on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which presently has 16 million active membership.
Currently, Ghana is experiencing a surge in kidney diseases with nearly four million of the population suffering chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Kidney transplant is often the treatment of choice for kidney failure, compared with a lifetime on dialysis.
The procedure can treat CKD or end-stage renal disease to help provide better quality of life and lower risk of death.
However, the procedure is usually financed out-of-pocket since the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) does not cover services like organ transplantation, dialysis and cost of immunosuppressive drugs.
According to health authorities an average of GH¢700,000 is required to undergo kidney transplant in the country representing a high financial burden on patients and their families.
For dialysis, a session costs between GH¢350.00 and GH¢700.00 and patients need at least three sessions to flush out toxins and excess water from their system.
A shut down of the KBTH’s renal unit over a GH¢4 million debt in the last six months caused huge discomfort to CKD patients as a result of the hospital’s comparatively lower charges.
Parliament is expected to expedite action on a proposed new fees and charges by the hospital to fray the debt and sustain service to CKD patients.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
