KARACHI - The Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute of Medical Sciences Gambat has performed 100 successful liver transplants so far, Dr Rahim Bux Bhatti, director of the health facility, told Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in a report on Saturday. “This is the first time that 100 complicated procedures of liver transplant have been successfully carried out in a public sector health facility in Pakistan,” said the chief minister. The report to the chief minister says the Liver Transplant Department was set up at the Institute in January 2016. “The first transplant was performed in April the same year,” Bhatti said in the report, which he presented to the chief minister.
At the start, German and other international surgeons used to visit the hospital to perform operations but with the passage of time the institute has been able to establish its in-house team of experts supervised and led by Dr Abdul Wahab Dogar. The team is now dedicating all its expertise and time to the welfare of patients, Bhatti said.
The ultimate credit for this magnanimous set up and state of the art health facility goes to Dr Rahim Bhatti who not only dreamt about this but also made it a real life exemplary model for the country and a monument of humanity for the world. The chief minister said that the liver transplant is the only treatment available for patients with irretrievable acute liver failure or chronic end-stage liver disease, certain metabolic diseases and liver cancer. In the past, patients had to look for the transplant facility in other countries that involved immense financial and travelling hassle, whereas at PAQSJIMS all these procedures are carried out at zero expense for the patient through the medical aid provided by his government.
According to the report to the chief minister, the success rate is 95 percent and this is not less than any developed country. Also, the institute has announced that from now onwards two operations of liver transplant will be conducted every day.
The other attribute of the hospital is its latest machinery and instruments used for medical procedure. This is rare in Asia. Apart from liver transplants, PAQSJIMS is carrying out cornea transplants, other organ transplants and treating heart-related diseases.
Dr Bhatti and his team are carrying forward the legacy and mission to provide the health services to all humans without any discrimination. Undoubtedly, these efforts are need of the hour and indeed the message to the world of humanity and positivity in Pakistan.
