Dagupan-based R1MC ready for first kidney transplant

DAGUPAN CITY -- The government-owned Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) here is all set to undertake its first-ever kidney transplant from a living donor to a recipient on Monday, starting at 10 a.m.

The names of both the patient and the kidney donor have been withheld.

Dr. Roland Mejia, R1MC chief, said all the equipment and the staff that will perform the delicate operation are now ready for the kidney transplant to be performed in the hospital.

He said a team of doctors and nurses duly trained by the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Manila will perform the operation.

R1MC is the only hospital north of Manila licensed by the Department of Health (DOH) to perform kidney transplant, Mejia said.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona has been invited to be among those who will witness the kidney transplant and to conduct a press conference later, but will just send his representatives as he is leaving for the United States to receive an award.

Mejia said in line with this medical breakthrough, R1MC is now conducting an information drive throughout Northern Luzon to inform the people about the benefit of kidney donation from a healthy person to his or her relative.

He said that in kidney transplant, the kidney to be donated must be compatible with the recipient to ensure 100 percent success.

Pointing out that the selling of kidneys for a fee is illegal, Mejia expressed hope that the medical breakthrough at R1MC could save a lot of kidney patients.

These patients, he said, are now having twice or thrice a week dialysis at R1MC which is draining their resources, but with a kidney transplant through organs donated by their own relatives, they can have a new lease on life and save on money.

Kidney transplant is the only option left for those with diseased kidney, he added. (PNA/Sunnex)