LASUTH, Apollo Hospital Launch Kidney Transplant Centre
With the increasing rate of kidney diseases in the country, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, and Apollo Hospital, India weekend launched a collaborative renal programme to provide best treatment as well as crash the high cost of kidney transplant.
Addressing journalists in Lagos during a meeting with a team of kidney experts from Apollo hospital India, LASUTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Wale Oke who disclosed that no fewer than five cases of kidney transplants had been successfully done by doctors in LASUTH, explained that the collaboration with Apollo was to further improve the skills of the doctors as well as reduce number of patients dying from kidney diseases.
He said: “The new programme is to create opportunity to empower our doctors because the more surgeries they do, the better, they become. We have done five kidney transplants but unfortunately, we have rejection issue with one case. With this programme, such issue of rejection will be taken care of and more equipment will be procured. And some cases that cannot be done here in LASUTH will be taken to Apollo Hospital India in the company of our doctors.
“This programme is in line with Governor Akin Ambode’s mission to reduce medical tourism as fast as possible, ensure that patients are treated here in the country and at a cheaper cost.” Oke explained that under the programme,
‘Kidney specialists and Nephrologists will be visiting periodically to develop, train, and give expert opinion to the kidney patients. Doctors and technicians can travel to Apollo for exposure.”
Speaking, a Consultant Nephrologist & Transplant physician, Apollo Hospitals, Dr. Manoj Gumber said the collaboration was not just shifting patients from Nigeria to India but exchange of knowledge among the doctors, adding that Apollo Hospitals has been in collaboration with various institutions from other countries in the last 20 years.
