Patients undergoing dialysis at the GMCH on Monday. Picture by Biju Boro

May 17: The Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), the leading healthcare centre of the region, is set to add another feather to its cap on August 15 — the day it starts kidney transplants.

The operation charge has been fixed at Rs 1.5 lakh, which, according to the GMCH, is less by one third of the cost charged in other metros. While the Christian Hospital, Vellore, charges Rs 3.5 lakh for the surgery, the cost of such operations at Apollo Hospital in Delhi and Mumbai is more than Rs 4 lakh.

The GMCH, the biggest and leading government hospital in the region, had conducted three kidney transplants in 1994. “Those operations were conducted on an experimental basis. Though they were successful, the hospital could not continue for lack of funds and infrastructure. But from August, we will have regular transplants,” Dr M.M. Deka, principal-cum-chief superintendent of the GMCH said.

Kidney expert from Hyderabad Dr S. Saharia will join a team of doctors from both nephrology and urology departments during both pre and post-operative care.

Dr J. Patowary, head of nephrology department, said the kidney transplantation would be a challenge for the GMCH doctors. “We will leave no stone unturned to make sure that the new facility is a success. It will be a huge job from building the infrastructure and arranging donors.”

An authorisation committee, headed by the director of medical education and top health department officials, has been constituted to select the donors. “The GMCH will prefer ‘first degree’ donors, which means nobody other than close relatives of the patients will be allowed to donate their kidneys,” an official said.

An ethical committee comprising GMCH doctors will strictly monitor that outsiders do not pose as relatives to sell kidneys.

The North Eastern Council (NEC) has released nearly Rs 2 crore as part of modernisation of the nephrology and urology departments to conduct kidney transplantation.

A state-of-the-art post-operative room is being set up on the third floor of the hospital. The GMCH has already tied up with a private Calcutta-based hospital to conduct tissue matching of patients and donors before surgery.

“Kidney transplantation is a matter of teamwork. Doctors from the nephrology, urology, pathology and cardiology departments will have to work together and make it successful,” Dr Deka said.

According to an estimate made by the GMCH, while more than 400 people from Assam travel to Vellore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai for kidney transplants, more than 200 people leave for the same destinations for treatment of kidney-related problems.

The GMCH doctors said the health department should launch a massive awareness campaign to convince the patients to undergo kidney transplants at the GMCH instead of going outside the state.

The health department reimburses all expenses to the tune of Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh of government employees in case they have to undergo treatment outside the state.