Date 2019-08-04
Category Food & Health
The management of NISA Premier Hospital, Abuja, has carried out its first kidney transplantation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaking to newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, the Chairman of the hospital, Dr Ibrahim Wade said the transplantation was carried out on a woman by the hospital in collaboration with a Nigerian American Doctor and its team.
“We are here to confirm a major medical feat at NISA whereby yesterday for the first time on the soil of Abuja, bringing together a home and a diaspora team, we were able to achieved a seemless kidney transplantation.
“kidney diseases are on the rising in this country, there is a lot of diseases springing up, and the end solution for kidney diseases is a kidney transplantation.
“Yes, this is an area nobody can do for us as Nigerians unless we create the environment to allow experts do the job they can do,
“I am very please to announce that NISA has recorded the very first case of kidney transplantation, in collaboration with a team led by a Nigerian American, ” he said.
Wada said the doctors were Dr Obi Ekwenna, a Transplant and Urologist Surgeon and a Nigerian American, a Master Public Health Specialist and Registered Nurse Mary Brown from the United States of America and Dr Lemah Mabasu Urologist Surgeon from NISA hospital.
He described the word NISA as women, stating that the hospital had been pursuing women’s health related issues for a long time.
He noted that the hospital was also concentrating on developing an environment that allows the hospital to tap into the wealth of experience and abilities of Nigerians living outside the country.
Wada, however, called on the Federal Government including all stakeholders to create an enabling environment for foreign partnership and collaboration, so that Nigerians would not have to travel overseas for medical care.
He stressed that partnering with other healthcare sectors overseas would reduce the cost of medicalcare for Nigerians and also boost the nation’s economy.
Also speaking, the urologist/transplant surgeon Dr Obi, said there was need for all hands to be on the deck to be able to manage a very costly disease in a poor environment.
He emphasised the need for awareness creation among the populace, saying: “A lot of patients and physicians are not educated about kidney disease, hoping that the media will help in this regard.
Obi disclosed that the transplant was carried out on Friday, August 2, and it was a success.
“We did a formal kidney transplant of a gentleman who donated to his sister-in-law. And I can confirm that both the donor and the recipient are doing very well.
”The donor today is leaving the hospital, we had the surgery yesterday and he is walking out of the hospital already . So we are very pleased.
“The transplant is a very high healthcare that requires lots of planning, preparation and I am very proud of NISA for the enabling environment towards this achievement,” he said.
In his remarks, Mabasu the head of Urological Surgeon of NISA described the feat as a milestone as a level of expertise was needed to be able to carry out the kidney transplantation.
He said that NISA aimed to raise awareness of the magnitude of the problem of kidney failure as well as its causes and management and how these could be prevented.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) recalls that the first reported renal transplantation in Nigeria was carried out at the College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, on June 26, 2002.
(By Abujah Racheal – NAN)
