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GPHC is lone institution certified to conduct organ transplants – Health Minister
…more hospitals to be certified in 2025
Kaieteur News- The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is the lone medical institution in Guyana certified to conduct organ transplants, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, disclosed recently.
The Minister was at the time briefing reporters at his Ministry’s end-of-year press conference. He said the Ministry of Health is working with international agencies to certify a number of local hospitals to perform transplantation surgeries. This, the Minister, said should occur during 2025.
“There are others in the private sector that have indicated that they would like to be certified, and they have been told the requirements. So, they are going through that process of meeting those requirements to be certified,” he disclosed.
Minister of Heath, Dr Frank Anthony
The Health Minister noted that the government has introduced legislation in keeping with its efforts to offer transplant service to citizens.
“In terms of legislation, we passed a law in 2022 which provides for transplant of organs, tissues and there is a section there that talks about transfusion,” Dr Anthony said.
He continued: “So, that piece of legislation, it has broadly three broad areas. One, it provides for transplant of organs, tissues, and there’s a section there that also talks about transfusion…And the third component of that legislation talks about regenerative medicine, meaning to use things like stem cells. So that is covered in the legislation, and we have been working to bring that legislation to life.”
According to Dr Anthony, the Health Ministry has been working with the Donation and Transplant Institute (DTI) as well as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). He said that the agencies have been working with the hospitals locally to be able to do live transplant donor for kidneys as well as deceased donor transplant.
“We have a transplant agency that has been set up and that agency has worked with several partners both locally and internationally to put a number of regulations in place so that we can monitor and have things in place to an international standard,” the minister of health said.
Last March, the GPHC was the first institution to be officially certified as a Kidney Transplant Centre. The certification was conferred by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Agency (HOATTA).
Back then, the Health Minister had emphasized the significance of obtaining the certification in ensuring Guyana’s compliance with international standards.
“What we have done here… and that extensive process is verifying that we are meeting all the international benchmarks that exist in other parts of the world so we are happy to have engaged in this process,” Dr. Anthony noted.
The establishment of the HOATTA was made possible through the enactment of the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Act 2022.
Following this legislative landmark, the agency’s members were officially gazetted in February 2023, with their appointments taking effect in April of the same year.
Dr. Anthony commended the team at the GPHC for its diligent efforts, which have propelled the advancement of transplant practices in Guyana. He also acknowledged the collaboration with PAHO, highlighting its instrumental role in implementing various measures.
“As we go forward, moving from living donors to cadaveric transplants, I think the public can rest assured that we are adhering to all the best international practices, and I want to commend the agency for the work that they’ve done so far.
By this action, you’re setting a bar for all the hospitals in our country so that whatever process we have gone through here today, when other institutions would like to be certified the same high standards would apply,” Dr. Anthony said.
(GPHC is lone institution certified to conduct organ transplants – Health Minister)
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