FMC, Umuahia forms committee on kidney transplant

The Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Dr Abali Chuku, says the hospital has set up a committee to oversee the implementation of the memorandum of understanding it signed with Toledo University, Ohio, U.S. for kidney transplant.

Chuku told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Friday that the committee was made up of medical personnel with interest in kidney transplantation.

He said that committee had covered enough ground for the commencement of kidney transplant in the hospital before the end of the first quarter of the year.

The medical director said that negotiations for the university to help midwife kidney transplant in the hospital began in 2015 during his induction into the University’s Medical Mission Hall of Fame.

He said that the university agreed to train eight medical personnel for the hospital on kidney transplant.

He said that the number would include three doctors and two nurses in the first phase, while three others would be trained later.

Chuku said that the hospital was still grappling with the shortage of nurses, adding that the situation was hampering efficient service delivery.

According to him, the hospital requires 236 additional nurses to cope with the increasing number of patients from within and outside Abia.

He expressed the hope that the hospital would get Federal Government’s approval to recruit more nurses.

Chuku said that on its own, the hospital had entered into a partnership with the National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America for the training of nurses for the hospital.

“Many nurses have retired and more are still retiring from the system. So, we have urgent need to fill the vacuum created by their exit."

“You know that nature abhors a vacuum, hence we are finding it challenging to perform optimally in providing efficient healthcare services with the few nurses on ground,” he said.