–equipment being procured

IN a bid to continue the modernisation of Guyana’s healthcare sector and expand the services offered to citizens, the Ministry of Health is working to build capacity to conduct matching tests for kidney transplantation here.

This was according to Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, who, on the sidelines of a recent event, told the Guyana Chronicle that the government was aiming to have this type of testing done here by the end of 2024.

The type of testing that the ministry is hoping to implement is HLA typing which is a histocompatibility test that looks at proteins called human leukocyte antigens. The results of these tests can be used to identify good matches for tissue grafts and organ transplants.

In terms of matching, the minister told this newspaper that they want to make sure that capacity is here locally to do so and as such they have been working hard to develop this capacity.
As it is currently, the minister said that samples are sent to Miami at a cost of approximately US$3,000 per test. With this process, results are returned in 24 to 48 hours. However, he said that the entire process of getting the samples to Miami takes some time.

“So we are now in the process of building capacity; we have done an assessment and there are a couple pieces of equipment we are procuring right now. So before the year comes to an end, we will be able to do HLA testing,” Dr Anthony disclosed.

With the establishment of this type of testing here, the Health Minister indicated that they would be able to get a faster turnaround for results as the samples would be sent to the laboratory and results received quicker.

This move will further add to several changes that have recently been implemented which include the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation becoming the first-ever kidney transplant centre in the country.

That was done following the establishment of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Agency which caters for the certification of designated transplant centres across the country, and the setting up of several regulations to govern transplantation locally.