AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH) has become the first hospital in the country to successfully perform renal transplantation by using its local medical doctors without support of foreign doctors.
The Hospital’s Executive Director, Dr Alphonce Chandika, told a press conference here on Thursday that BMH had performed its 12th kidney transplantation on March 3, saying both kidney recipient and his donor are doing well.
“We are thrilled to write history by becoming the first hospital in the country since independence to perform kidney transplant by using our very own native doctors,” said the Hospital’s Executive Director while briefing the media.
Dr Chandika informed that while the kidney recipient, Emmanuel Kahigi was recovering at the BMH, his kidney donor, Chiza Kahigi had been discharged from the hospital after recuperating.
He pointed out that BMH introduced the kidney transplantation service with support of doctors from Japan-based Tokushukai Medical Corporation and Tokyo Women’s Medical University in March, 2018.
“After performing the eleventh kidney transplantation in January, the foreign doctors assured us that our doctors are experienced enough to perform kidney transplant independently,” he observed.
Dr Chandika said BMH in collaboration with University of Dodoma (UDOM) were now set to become a kidney transplantation teaching hub in the country, saying the hospital was willing to support students undertaking medical studies in teaching the operation.
He said at least 75 kidney patients were undergoing dialysis at BMH’s Nephrology Directorate, saying the hospital receives at least two kidney patients seeking dialysis service every week.
On his part, Dr Masumbuko Mwashambwa, one of the surgeons who took part in the kidney transplantation operation, said that the team which had performed the operation used about ten hours to carry out the life-saving maneuver.
He explained that the team that performed the kidney transplantation used long hours because the same team had performed operations on the kidney donor and his recipient.
Dr Mwashambwa expressed gratitude to President John Magufuli for enabling local doctors to perform kidney transplantation within the country, noting that the government has tremendously facilitated BMH to perform such operation.
“We are also thankful to the hospital’s Executive Director, Dr Alphonce Chandika and Vice Chancellor of UDOM, Prof Faustine Bee for enabling us to perform kidney transplantation,” said the surgeon who doubles as a lecturer at the University of Dodoma.
