FFTEEN kidney transplants have so far been successfully performed in Guyana by a foreign medical team with the support of the Government of Guyana.

This was disclosed yesterday by transplant surgeon from the United States, Dr.Rahul Jindal, who performed the first kidney transplant in Guyana in 2008.
In an interview with the media at the Balwant Singh Hospital, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, yesterday Dr. Jindal, who is on his fifteenth trip to Guyana, pointed out that the first four transplants were done at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, and the remaining 11 were done at the Balwant Singh Hospital.
Patients from Caribbean
According to him, for the first time since they have been performing the transplants, there have been patients from other parts of the Caribbean visiting Guyana to have this done.
Meanwhile, on Saturday and Sunday last, Dr. Jindal and his medical team performed kidney transplants on two persons, one from Antigua and Barbuda, and the other from the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and he reported that both the patients and the donors are doing well.
He said that while first priority is given to Guyanese patients, the local patients were not ready with their donors and as such this is the first time that both patients were non- Guyanese.
Dr. Jindal stated that this time around the medical team consisted of six persons, adding that every transplant takes between 8-10 hours and the hospital provides facilities at a small cost and patients pay a small amount to the hospital.
Medication
According to him, the Government of Guyana supplies lifelong medication to the patients, as well as general support in terms of permission and licenses to perform these surgeries.
He said that the team visits Guyana three to four times a year and aims to perform two transplants per visit, and they already have three patients lined up for their next visit in two to three months.
Dr. Jindal pointed out that before these transplants were done in Guyana, patients had to visit the United States where a kidney transplant operation could cost about US$150,000, or India at a cost of about US$60,000.
He said in such cases the patients would have to stay in that particular country for a number of months to avoid travelling, and also the local expertise would not be able to benefit or develop their skills and knowledge in the area.
He indicated that the Balwant Singh Hospital has expanded in terms of its facilities and staffing, and in performing these transplants at the hospital, local physicians and nurses participate, so they can learn about the procedures and eventually they will start doing it themselves.
According to him, there are also follow-ups with the patients locally, and the local doctors can consult with the overseas team if the need arises.
Dr. Jindal noted that it is a humanitarian effort, and the satisfaction is in knowing that they are doing something worthwhile.
Also speaking with the media, Administrator of the Balwant Singh Hospital, Dr. Madhu Singh highlighted the hard work by the visiting medical team, which has put a lot of effort into the programme.
She added that they are very pleased to have the team at the hospital, pointing out that they have proved that these transplants can be done, even in a small setup.

Medical Tourism
She noted also that the programme has benefitted a large number of patients and it is also bringing medical tourism to Guyana, since patients from other countries in the Caribbean are coming to the country to have their transplant done.
Dr. Singh said that the programme is truly a public/private partnership, since the Government of Guyana has been helping on a very large scale in terms of the provision of medication and several other ways.
She stated that when the programme first started, they were very concerned because they expected to have a lot of hiccups, but it has gone very smoothly.
This, she said, is due to the fact that it has gotten easier since the hospital staff know what to expect.
Dr. Singh pointed out that the overseas team is even bringing fewer people, since some of the tasks can be performed by the hospital’s adequately trained staff.
Accommodation and Airfare
Meanwhile, businessman George Subraj, who finances the programme in terms of accommodation and airfare for the medical team, among other ways, said that he has been blessed and this is his way of giving back.
He stated that he believes that “we must give as much we can, as fast as we can, before we depart this earth,” and gave assurance of his continued efforts to finance the programme.
Subraj indicated that this venture would not be possible without the medical team, and support from the Government of Guyana.
According to him, he met with President Donald Ramotar and Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran who both assured that the government will continue to provide medication for the patients.