[size=14pt]UCH offers free kidney transplants
[/size]
As part of efforts to assist Nigerians affected by kidney diseases, the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, is to offer free kidney transplants.




http://odili.net/news/source/2010/mar/15/612.html

Making this disclosure, a member of the Kidney Transplant Unit of the hospital, Professor Babatunde Salako, said the initiative to boost the hospital's kidney transplant programme was being carried out to assist patients with kidney problems and announce the expertise of the hospital in kidney transplantation.

His words: "We have already carried out two kidney transplantation and we are planning two more very soon, meaning that we still have six slots for free kidney transplantation for those we found qualified. These would be people who have donors who are their close relatives and can afford the cost of post-transplant drugs."

Professor Salako declared that the hospital would be spending between N25 million and N30 million on the free kidney transplantation surgeries, which currently cost about N3 million per one elsewhere in the country.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that cases of kidney diseases were on the rise in the country, stressing that at the hospital, five new cases were recorded every week.

He said Nigeria should emulate other African countries that offered free kidney transplantation and care for people with kidney diseases, stressing that most of the cases were complications of such diseases as diabetes and hypertension as well as due to abuse of analgesics and native herbs.