Turkey and Pakistan will promote medical tourism and liver transplantation facility will be offered to Pakistan from Turkish hospitals to Pakistanis on subsidized rates.
Punjab government will collaborate with Turkish ministry of health about organ transplantation especially liver transplantation.
Turkish Health Ministry and the Punjab government will collaborate in building capacity and training of Doctors, nurses and other staff related to human organs transplantation, especially liver transplantation.
Khawaja Salman Rafique the Minister for Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education, Khawaja Imran Nazir the Minister for Primary & Secondary Health announced aforementioned statement in meeting with delegation of Turkish Ministry of Health at Civil Secretariat. Director General International Affairs and European Union Ministry of Health Dr. Oner Gunner led the Turkish delegation and transplant specialist Dr. Murat Ozturk and Dr. Mehmat Ali Aydin were also included in the delegation. Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Punjab Najam Ahmad Shah, Secretary Primary and Secondary Health Ali Jan Khan, Secretary to Chief Minister Dr. Ahmad Javed Qazi, Director General Punjab Human Organs Transplantation Authority(PHOTA) Prof Masood Sadiq, Chairman Shaikh Zayed Hospital Prof Farid Ahmad Khan, Dean Children Hospital Prof Masood Sadiq, Professor of Cardiology Allama Iqbal Medical College Dr. Zubair, Prof Dr. Shahid Ameen from PIC, Prof Dr. Tariq Bangish, Prof Dr. Razia from Federal Health Department, Special Secretary Primary & Secondary Health Dr. Faisal Zahoor, Deputy Secretary Yedullah and Dr. Zahid Pervaiz attended the meeting.
“Turkish hospitals are successfully transplanting liver, lungs, intestine, kidney and heart at 38 transplantation centers currently. Liver transplantation facility will be offered to patients from on subsidized rate than international market”, said Dr. Oner Gunner
“This mega project was for Pakistan Kidney, Liver Transplantation and Research Institute established in Lahore at the worth of Rs 20 billion. The first phase of the project will be completed by December 2017. The project is a flagship of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Transplantation facility of liver and kidney will be started in duly first month after completion of PKLI”, said Kh Salman Rafiq.
Kh Salman Rafiq exposed grants of billions of rupees from CM given for liver transplantation of poor and deserving patients in country. He added that waiting list of liver patients will be reduced by facility in Turkey. The Turkish delegation told that on average 12000 transplantation surgeries are conducted in Turkey every year. Dr. Oner revealed that last year 88 heart transplantation surgeries conducted in Turkey successfully.
Najam Ahmad Shah, Secretary Specialized Health strained the need for developing a system for collaboration between Turkish Ministry of Health and Punjab government for availing this facility. He also proposed the constitution of a technical committee.
Minister Kh Salman Rafiq in response to the proposal, established technical committee including Director General PHOTA Prof Dr. Faisal Masood and Turkish consultant Dr. Murat Ozturk to finalize the matters and promote collaboration in field and constitute more sub-committees to prepare possibility of cooperation between Turkish Ministry of Health and Punjab government.