Kidney harvest and transplant is impossible here

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Dr Solomon says “we don’t have facilities and professionals to carry out kidney harvesting and transplant here”

Medical Superintendent Dr Janella Solomon has confirmed that the country does not have the facilities and the professionals to carry out kidney harvesting and transplant here.

Kidney harvesting and transplant has become an issue in the past week following claims by an unknown group that they are abducting school kids purposely for their kidneys. That has sparked fear and panic in the community.

Today, Dr Solomon was amongst a team of government panelists talking to journalists on issues of their areas of expertise.

As a medical professional, she dispelled any suggestions that kidney harvesting and transplant is doable in the country.

She explained that a kidney transplant happens only in a hospital – meaning that the person must die in a hospital. “Not only that, but the person must die in an intensive care unit and in a ventilator. That’s where official organ transplant could happen,” she added.

“In the Solomon Islands, we don’t have any intensive care, we only have a high dependency unit where we can keep sick patients. We don’t have the capacity to maintain people in a ventilator. We don’t have the personnel to do pre-information during and after transplant,” she said.

Dr Solomon further stated that before a transplant happens there must also be some information and permission must be given by the donor to the recipient.

Organ transplant happens between a donor and a recipient.

“There has to be a process that you match the donor with recipient so that after the transplant there are no infections,” she added.

“So, our level in the Solomon Islands, the NRH does not have the capacity to do organ transplant. Even to sponsor someone to go overseas for organ transplant we don’t have the money,” said the doctor.

On the cost, Dr Solomon said transplant is very expensive and though it may be cheaper in places like India, it still costs around USD$250k to US$400k.”

She assured the public that none of “our doctors or nurses in country is capable of performing donor transplant or harvesting of kidney because it has to be done in a properly equipped facility which we don’t have in the country.”

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