LAHORE – Transplantation of human organs including liver, kidney and heart will start in Lahore very soon and Lahore General Hospital will be the main centre for organ harvesting, Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Chairman Professor Tariq Salahuddin said on Sunday.
He said this after attending a meeting of doctors of various hospitals. Under the programme, heart transplantation will be carried out at Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) whereas liver and kidney transplantation will be done at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Lahore and Lahore General Hospital (LGH).
Salahuddin said that in February 2010, the National Assembly (NA) had passed a law in this regard. He said that renowned religious scholars from Egypt, Iran and other Muslim countries have also given their consent for human organ transplantation. The PGMI chairman said that in light of the law passed by the NA, donor cards will be issued to patients and organs be collected after brain death of the donor.
The meeting decided that Neuro Surgery Associate Professor Dr Khalid Mehmood will be the coordinator of the programme while PGMI Anaesthesia Professor Dr Khalid Bashir will be responsible for intensive care of patients. Salahuddin said that in Europe and North America, most of the organs are taken from brain dead patients, as they carry organs donor card. He said that Sri Lanka is the prime donor of cornea.
The meeting decided that an awareness campaign regarding human organs donation will be launched to convince people to donate organs for saving other lives. In this campaign, cooperation of clerics, social workers, medical experts and the media will also be sort. Salahuddin said that all the process will be maintained transparent and the whole team of this programme will execute their professional services with a humanitarian spirit.
