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Kidney patients to pay Shs46m for transplant
Parents and children wait to be attended to by medics at Mulago National Referral Hospital on May 26, 2022. The hospital management says kidney patients in need of transplants will be required to pay about Shs45m for the transplant. Photo/Frank Baguma
What you need to know:
- The hospital management says it is unable to sustain free procedures.
On December 20, 2023, a team of medical experts from Uganda along with colleagues from Yashoda Hospital in India conducted the first-ever kidney transplant in Uganda at the Mulago National Referral Hospital.
This marked the beginning of the kidney transplant programme in the country which will save patients additional costs of travelling abroad for treatment.
However, patients in need of the life-saving procedure will be required to pay about Shs45m for the transplant.
In an interview with Monitor on Tuesday, Dr Simon Peter Eyoku, the head of the Kidney Unit at Mulago hospital, said although the first procedure was free, the hospital cannot sustain free transplants in the near future, adding that the procedure is costly.
“The patients will have to pay for the transplant. The advantage is that the transplant will be much cheaper than going to India where it is about $26,500 (Shs100.5m), here it may be between $10,000 (Shs37.9m) and $12,000 (Shs45.5m),” he said.
He added: “We shall get to that figure but the patients should know that it is not going to be free, we can’t sustain free treatment.”
Dr Eyoku revealed that the Office of the President sponsored the first transplant. The sponsorship included conducting investigations (testing blood groups, donor and recipient assessment, among others), surgery and medicine for at least six months.
He urged the government to continue supporting those in need of the procedure.
“The life of a patient with post-transplant drugs is the worst and that is what leads to rejection, patients give up [due to the expensive medication] after the transplant,” Dr Eyoku said.
He noted that after transplant treatment costs between $7 (Shs26,500) and $10,000 (Shs37.9m). This includes purchasing drugs, going for consultations and hospital reviews.
Dr Eyoku said the number of kidney patients seeking transplants has increased following the success of the first transplant.
“We have over 30 patients on the waiting list right now who are fit and need the transplant. However, every patient below 60 years in this country, who is on colonic dialysis, is potentially on the list of transplant,” he said.
However, he did not reveal when the next transplant will be conducted.
Prof Frank Asiimwe, a consultant urologist and transplant surgeon at the hospital, who led the team of Ugandan doctors who conducted the first transplant last week said they are preparing for another one.
“We don’t know when the next transplant will be done, it is a moving target. I can’t say when it will be but it’s in high gear,” Prof Asiimwe said.
He added: “We are still doing assessments on patients and donors and when we are ready we go to the next step but everything is already in motion.”
Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the executive director of Mulago National Referral Hospital, without revealing the timeframe, confirmed that the second transplant will be done soon.
“We have started the preparation, so any time it (kidney transplant) will be done,” Dr Byanyima said.
