30 kidney transplants a month in SDNTC

By Saroj Dhungel, Kathmandu, July 29: The Shahid Dharma Bhakta National Transplant Center (SDNTC), Bhaktapur, has performed kidney transplants for 30 people in a month.

The center performed kidney transplants on 30 people from June 15 to July 15. 

Managing Director at the SDNTC, Dr Pukar Chandra Shrestha, said that no other transplant center in the world has performed such a large number of kidney transplants in such a short period. 

He said that the Shahid Dharma Bhakta National Transplant Center in Nepal has succeeded in creating history, saying that in the fiscal year 2081/82 alone, the center completed kidney transplants in  186 people and liver transplants in 8 people.

He said that in the last fiscal year, under the leadership of the center, three kidney transplants were performed at the Provincial Hospital in Surkhet, three at Pokhara, and two at Bheri Hospital.

Highest number of transplants performed in age group of 30 to 39 years

According to Dr Shrestha, the age group of patients who underwent kidney transplant at the center ranges from 14 to 71 years.

He said that 155 of them, or 80 percent of the recipients, were in the age group of 20 to 49 years.

According to the center, transplant was performed in 6 people aged 15 to 19, 47 people aged 20 to 29, 58 people aged 30 to 39, 45 people aged 40 to 49, 26 people aged 50 to 59, and 3 people aged 69. 

Similarly, among kidney recipients, 136 are men (73 percent) and 50 are women (27 percent). 

Similarly, among organ donors, 130 are women (70 percent) and 55 are men (30 percent). This further shows gender discrimination in organ transplantation.

Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population  Dr Bikas Devkota, said that the government-run Transplant Center has achieved significant success in kidney and liver transplants.

He said that a separate premise for the hospital will further enhance the workings of the hospital. Currently, the center does not have a single inch of land or building. Currently, the center is being operated in a building of Bhaktapur Hospital.

Similarly, according to last year's statistics, among the patients who came to the center for treatment from seven provinces, Bagmati Province accounted for the highest number of patients, that is 32 percent, followed by 27 from Koshi Province, 11 per cent from Lumbini Province, 13 percent from Gandaki Province, 10 per cent from Madhesh Province, 2 per cent from Sudur Paschim Province, and 5 per cent from Karnali Province.