One year after the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Kidney Transplant Centre (KTC) in Jos, the facility is yet to commence full operations.
It will be recalled that the University of Jos (UNIJOS) received a N1 billion grant from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and signed an agreement with the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) to establish the centre.
The chief medical director of JUTH, Dr Pokop Bupwatda, in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP, while giving an update, said the Centre could not take off as promised because there are things that are not yet in place, especially the construction of the Tissue Typing laboratory, which is ongoing.
According to him, to be able to carry out a successful kidney transplant, they need to be sure of compatibility between the donor and the receiver, or else there will be a rejection and consequently will lead to the failure of the transplant.
He also disclosed that people are unwilling to donate their kidneys (donor scarcity), which he said is another big problem.
The CMD also explained that the team discovered that some of the re-agents supplied earlier had expired when they were about to do the Tissue Typing.
He added that the management of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) will meet very soon to review the process and discuss the way forward.
Speaking to our correspondent, the centre’s director, Prof Chima Ofoha, highlighted some of its challenges, including the lack of a dedicated structure for the Centre to operate and the very expensive construction of a Tissue Typing laboratory.
He pointed out that for one to do a cross-match alone, over N6 million was required, and if it did not match, the patient would have to spend another N6 million for another donor.
Prof Ofoha also stressed that they are working hard to ensure that the Centre commences full operation, but the challenges, especially the financial aspect, are a bit difficult for most of the patients.
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