IN a historic move, on Wednesday, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) was certified as the first kidney transplant centre in Guyana by the country’s Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Agency (HOATTA).

This comes as a result of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Act which catered for the establishment of the agency, which is expected to certify and designate transplant centres across the country in accordance with regulations and international standards.

During the ceremony which was held at the Ministry of Health’s Brickdam office, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony said that the certification was historic, as it is the first time that a hospital in Guyana has been designated as such a centre.
While he noted that some time back transplants were done at the hospital with very positive results, this certification indicates that the facility is officially in line with international benchmarks.

“Of course, while we have been doing a lot of good work, we also need to ensure that we are being compliant with international standards. What we have done here and that extensive process… is verifying that we are meeting all the international benchmarks that exist in other parts of the world,” Dr Anthony said.

Further, he said that this action is setting the bar for other hospitals in the country, so that whatever process was done to certify the hospital, other institutions that would like to be certified, that same high standard would apply to all institutions.
The Health Minister said: “So, you set the bar and others that are now going to come on board to be certified, they have a standard. So once again I think you would be the pioneers in this regard.”

During the ceremony, it was highlighted that the extensive process was preceded by an examination of various areas, including ensuring that the relevant facilities, equipment and trained staff are in place to have these procedures done.

The hospital, over the years, put specific protocols, systems and equipment in place to reach to this current stage.
Chairperson at the HOATTA, Dr Shanti Singh-Anthony said that the mandate of the agency is to ensure that there is accessible and equitable access to transplantation in Guyana that is based on international standards and guidelines, emphasising ethical, high-quality standards of practice for donation and transplantation.

She added that the passing of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Act provided the legislative framework in which transplantation services will become more available and accessible to those in need of same.