Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani Institute of Medical Sciences Gambat has reached a significant milestone by performing 1,000 successful liver transplants.
“This historic achievement, marking umpteenth complicated liver transplant procedures, has been successfully carried out at a public sector health facility in Pakistan,” he said while addressing the online gathering with Dr. Rahim Bux Bhatti, the Director organized at the Institute to commemorate the milestone. Minister Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro, PSCM Agha Wasif and Secretary Health Rehan Baloch also attended the event with CM Sindh online.
Shah said that his party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari always proudly lauded the achievements of Gambat Institute. He added that he was happy to know that out of 1000 liver transplants, 460 patients belonged to Sindh, 347 to Punjab, 141 to Balochistan 36 to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine to Kashmir and four to Afghanistan. “I am quite happy and content that our Gambat institute serves the entire free of cost,” he said.
The patients who attended the ceremony at Gambat include Mutahira, 8-year- old from Afghanistan, Nasir Ali, 44 Hafizabad Punjab, Mohammad Nawaz, 56, Jacobabad, Saleemullah, 18, Kark KPK, and Habibullah, 14-year-old, Jaferabad Balochistan. The chief minister interacted with the patients and wished them a healthy and happy life.
The significant milestone of 1,000 successful liver transplants was commemorated by cutting a cake by Dr Bhatti, his team members and the patients at the Department of Liver Transplantation.
The Liver Transplant Department at the institute was established in January 2016, with the first transplant performed in April of the same year.
Initially, international surgeons from Germany and other countries conducted these surgeries. Over time, the institute developed its in-house team of experts, led by Dr. Abdul Wahab Dogar, which now handles all transplant procedures.
Dr. Bhatti is credited with the vision and realization of this advanced medical facility, which serves as a model for the country and a monument of humanitarian efforts.
“The transplants are provided at no cost to patients, funded by the Sindh government, in turn alleviating the financial and logistical burdens previously associated with seeking treatment abroad,” Murad Shah said.
The success rate of liver transplants at the institute is reported to be 90 per cent, comparable to rates in developed countries, Dr Rahim Bux Bhatti told the CM. He further added that the hospital, equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, also performs other transplants, and treats a variety of diseases, positioning itself as a leading healthcare institution in Asia.
Liver Department Achievements:
The liver department’s achievements include the highest number of living donor liver transplants in Pakistan in a year.
Combined Kidney and living donor liver transplant the first ever in the history of Pakistan. Living donor liver transplant for HIV-positive patient first ever in the history of Pakistan. First ever in the history of Pakistan ABO-incompatible liver transplant. Swap Liver Transplants; auxiliary liver transplantation, and Pediatric Liver Transplants. Currently, it is the largest liver transplant program in the country and heading towards the largest liver transplant program in the world.