The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said government is committed to start the transplant programme in The Bahamas at its “earliest convenience”.

The minister previously indicated during this year’s budget debate that the government expects to launch the Bahamas National Organ Transplant Programme before the end of the year.

He added that as officials determine what is required to execute and sustain the programme, kidney transplants will be the first performed through the programme.

Speaking before the weekly morning Cabinet meeting, Dr Darville gave an update yesterday on the programme.

He said the programme is presently being activated and that officials met yesterday with some of their key team players.

“We are about now to start training of our nurses in the UK and getting everything ready as far as the manpower resources are concerned to start first in the country kidney transplants and then it would expand to other types of transplant surgery.”

As for how soon to get it off the ground, he answered: “I know there are a lot of Bahamians who suffer from end stage renal disease on dialysis and our initial approach to organ transplant, particularly kidney it’s live donors, which that means if you are in kidney failure and you have a loved one who’s prepared to donate a kidney we try to investigate whether you were a match and then we put you on our list for possible transplant surgery, which will improve the quality of life of many of our patients who are presently on dialysis.”

“I want to make it clear that not everyone qualifies for transplant surgery and so that’s the reason why our medical team, surgical team, along with our consultants from the UK will begin to see cases the minute everything is in place and our nurses are trained and go through the stages where we have started interviewing processes with family and potential donors and see exactly whether or not you are a true candidate or not but this administration is committed to start a transplant programme in The Bahamas at its earliest convenience and the steps are presently being made with our team locally.”