THE University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), in collaboration with the Bayero University Teaching Hospital, Kano and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has successfully conducted a kidney transplant on a 31-year old Suleiman Usman. The kidney was donated by his brother, Abubakar Usman at the university’s Kidney Centre.
According to the university’s authorities, the transplant was the first of its kind handled in the institution without the assistance of any foreign surgeons, since the Kidney Centre was established in 1993.
Announcing the successful transplant yesterday at a press briefing at the teaching hospital, the Chief Medical Director of UMTH, Prof. Othman Kyari, said “first ever in the history of Maiduguri Kidney Centre, a team of doctors and surgeons from this hospital and others from Ile-Ife and Kano performed a very successful kidney transplant on Suleiman Usman without the intervention of any foreign doctors and surgeons.
He said with the successful transplant, there will be no more need to send kidney patients for transplant in foreign countries.
The chief medical director also noted that besides overcoming the challenges of transplanting the kidney, the exercise was carried out at the total cost of N2 million, stating that if it were carried out in any of the foreign countries, it would have cost the hospital about N3.5 million.
According to Prof. A. Akinsola of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), once the kidney is successfully transplanted, normal function returns and the quality of life of the patient is normalised.
He said except for the side effects of immunosuppressive drugs and acute rejection episodes in non-compliant or poorly matched patients, the donor’s transplanted kidney would start functioning to continue with normal life.
On the prevention of kidney damages and the diseases associated with kidneys, he said: “Prevention is the best solution to kidney diseases by changing people’s life styles against excessive drinking, smoking and lack of exercises and other activities that could keep people physically fit.”
He said because many people are addicted to these life styles, there are already 60 million people suffering from kidney related diseases in the country.
Prof. Kyari further disclosed that 10 per cent of the kidney patients at the UMTH are of renal disease, while 16 are affected with various ailments of the kidney.
He said with the successful transplant of the kidney on Suleiman, the next transplant by the hospital’s team of doctors and surgeons would take place in the next three weeks.
Akinsola appealed to wealthy individuals and philanthropists to sustain the transplant of kidneys at the teaching hospitals, while the Federal Government is to reduce tariffs on imported drugs and encourage the local production of such drugs in the country to save foreign exchange.
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