Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
Local surgeons complete kidney transplant at GPHC
Dr. Persaud (left) with his team and the patient
Opening a new frontier in transplant surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), local surgeons, for the first time, have completed a kidney transplant surgery.
The surgery was done last Tuesday. All expenses for the operation were borne by the GPHC.
A team of certified surgeons led by Dr. Kishore Persaud successfully performed the kidney transplant on 24-year-old Kiran Hardyal.
In the past, patients who would have had to undergo kidney transplants would have had to pay close to $7M to private hospitals or seek overseas treatment.
During a press conference yesterday, Dr. Persaud, who completed his studies at the University of Calgary in Canada, said that the surgery was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health, GPHC and the University of Calgary.
He explained that a few years ago, it was decided to improve the services being offered to patients with kidney disease in Guyana. It was then that he (Persaud) was offered the opportunity to specialize in kidney transplant at Calgary.
After completing his studies in Canada, Persaud returned home and later formed a team which will now be working together to perform kidney transplants.
“I was mandated to develop the Nephrology transplant department and to execute transplants in Guyana. So far, we have four Junior Medical Officers, Joseph, Austin, Fraser and Frank, a pharmacist, a social worker and a dietician,” Persaud stated.
Kaieteur News was told that there are two chronic disease clinics per week, free transplant clinics and a post-transplant clinic.
There is also a dialysis centre and a vascular access clinic, all at the GPHC.
“Within these clinics we have seen multiple patients, young and old, who are suffering from kidney disease at different stages,” Dr. Persaud said.
He explained that there are patients who have been waiting for a long period for kidney transplant, and this is because of the high cost attached to the surgery at private institutions.
Kaieteur News was told that after the 24-year-old patient and his donor were seen and assessed by medical practitioners, a decision was made to have the surgery done.
Both Kiran Hardyal and his donor are recovering in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
Dr. Persaud said that kidney transplant will now be done on a monthly basis at the GPHC.
The number of surgeries to be done will depend on the resources and medical personnel that are allocated.
Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, congratulated the team for successfully completing the transplant.
He said that there are 10 patients lined up for surgery. Four are scheduled to undergo surgery in November.
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