Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah on Thursday lauded the role of the Medical Transplantation Regulatory Authority (MTRA) in the prevention of illegal human organ transplantation activities in the province.
Addressing a ceremony on the occasion of World Transplant Day here, he said that the authority has started registration of transplant hospitals having international standard facilities.
He also appreciated the cooperation of police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in curbing illegal transplantation in the province, adding that with the cooperation of the police and FIA, the authority has been able to stop illegal organ transplants and organ sales.
He said that at present the trend of kidney and liver transplants was increasing, noting that kidney failure occurs mainly due to diabetes and high blood pressure for which timely diagnosis and treatment were imperative.
The minister said that due to hepatitis the number of patients suffering from liver diseases in Pakistan was increasing day by day for which liver transplantation had become necessary. He pointed out that the number of liver transplantation patients has increased to 10,000 annually in the country while 1500 to 2000 transplant operations were done in the whole country.
He said that there was a difference in the supply and demand of organs for transplantation, so there was a dire need for a post-death organ donation program which was also introduced by Saudi Arabia and Iran. He expressed the hope that a similar kind of programme would also be initiated in the country.
