Staff Reporter:
Social Welfare Minister Abu Zafar Md. Zahid Hossain yesterday called on stakeholders from the gov-ernment, medical community, media, and the general public to work together to form a sustainable or-gan donation and kidney transplantation system in the country.
“With the combined efforts of the government, the medical community, the media, and the general pub-lic, it is possible to build a sustainable organ and kidney transplantation system in the country,” he said.
Speaking as the chief guest, he made this remark while addressing the inaugural session of the two-day international conference titled “Bangladesh Korea Friendship Conference on Live and Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation”.
The conference is being held at Kidney Foundation Hospital and Research Institute in Mirpur here.
“Organ donation is a unique example of humanity and it offers hope to patients suffering from deadly diseases. A kidney from a deceased donor remains viable for up to six hours and can save life of another kidney patient through transplantation,” he said.
He also said that developing skilled transplant coordinators would mark the beginning of a new chapter in expanding deceased organ donation and transplantation activities in the country.
The minister stressed the need for creating awareness among people and motivating them to join the ini-tiative.
Physicians at the conference noted that around 20 million people in Bangladesh are currently suffering from one form of kidney disease or another.
Every year, 35,000 to 40,000 patients develop End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), become dependent on dialysis, and many eventually die, they noted.
They said only a few hundred kidney transplantations are performed annually in the country, with the number of transplants from deceased donors remaining extremely low.
The speakers urged the government to take multifaceted initiatives to make kidney treatment more af-fordable and accessible.
