The management of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) has announced plans to conduct free kidney transplants for the first 20 people to need the surgery after resuming the service which was stopped at the hospital 15 years ago.

Ahmed Ahidjo, the hospital’s chief medical director, made the disclosure during a press briefing held in Maiduguri on Wednesday, maintaining that development comes after the hospital successfully resumed kidney transplant services a few weeks ago, a program that was first introduced in 2010.

Ahidjo promised free kidney transplants to the first 20 patients on the line, and commended the federal government for subsidising dialysis, which enables patients to pay N12,000, which is less than $8 as against $1000 billed elsewhere.

According to Ahidjo, the hospital aims to make the transplant one of the cheapest in West African countries, while the transplant procedure will be free, the cost of drugs and consumables, estimated at N5 million, will be covered by potential donors.

The CMD appealed to donors to contribute towards procuring consumables for the next 20 patients who will undergo the transplant freely.

“This is not the first time UMTH is doing the transplant. The first time UMTH conducted a kidney transplant was in August 2010, and now the hospital has come back with full force to resume the exercise,” he said.

He added that UMTH has the largest kidney centre with about 85 bed capacity, the largest in the country.

“UMTH have four fully equipped theatre rooms all for kidney transplant, which were fully equipped with modern equipment,” Ahidjo said.

The resumption of kidney transplant services at UMTH is a significant development, considering the high number of kidney disease cases in the North East region.

Previously, patients had to travel out of the country for transplants, which cost around N13.5 million for the operation alone, excluding flight and other expenses.

With this new development, patients will no longer need to incur such high costs, and the hospital’s kidney transplant program is expected to bring relief to many in need of the life-saving procedure.

He commended the former chairman of TETFUND for his support of the hospital. He further expressed gratitude to Governor Babagana Umara Zulum for his maximum support for the hospital.

He added that Gov. Zulum also supported the hospital with a special grant of N50 million for research on causes of Kidney diseases in the State, which he said, according to findings, was likely as of result of diabetes, hypertension and dehydration from the excessive heat in the State. He encouraged residents to take adequate water during the heat season.

“The causes of Kidney issues for now are diabetes, highpertension and the exact causes are not yet known, but many samples were taken to laboratories and the result is awaited,” he said. (BusinessDay)