Uhuru unveils Sh1b kidney and liver transplant centre at KNH
President Uhuru Kenyatta speaking at the Kenyatta National Hospital Nairobi on May 11, 2022 when he presided over the official opening of kidney and liver transplants centre.
What you need to know:
- The project was jointly funded by the government of Kenya and Zarina Merali Foundation.
- The facility was equipped by the government and the Sports Arts and Social Development Fund.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has inaugurated a Sh1 billion state-of-the-art health facilities at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
The facilities include the Zarina Merali Surgical Daycare Centre, the Centre for Kidney Disease & Organ Transplantation and Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory.
The project was jointly funded by the government of Kenya and Zarina Merali Foundation. The facility was equipped by the government and the Sports Arts and Social Development Fund.
Speaking during the event, President Kenyatta noted that the inauguration of the facilities demonstrates the vast improvement in the country's healthcare system achieved during his tenure of office.
"This event demonstrates a genuine desire to bequeath current and future generations of Kenyans with world-class facilities that deliver superlative health services, for all," President Kenyatta said.
President Kenyatta also said the new Centre for Kidney Disease & Organ Transplantation will enhance KNH's interlife programme, whose objective is to revamp kidney transplantation services in the country.
The hospital has performed more than 200 kidney transplants under the interlife programme.
The new facility will make KNH the regional centre of excellence in managing kidney diseases in East Africa.
"This facility, which features two fully equipped theatres, a 17-bed capacity ward, a resource centre, clinics, and a seminar room, was established at a cost of Sh200 million. With this facility in operation, our patients are no longer at risk of infections that could otherwise have interfered with preferred clinical outcomes," the President said.
The Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, the first of its kind in East Africa, will significantly support organ and tissue transplants by conducting local donor and recipient matching.
"In this state-of-the-art centre, any kidney transplant patient can receive post-transplant care and clinical reviews from our specialists regardless of whether the surgery was done locally or outside the country," he said.
The centre has four theatres, an endoscopy unit, an electrophysiology room, and associated support facilities and is equipped to offer a wide range of ambulatory surgeries such as cosmetic, dental, gynaecology and endoscopy and others.
The Zarina Merali Daycare Centre will facilitate outpatient surgeries or same-day surgeries for patients at KNH.These are surgeries that do not require hospitalisation before and after an operation, meaning patients who undergo some surgical procedures will be allowed to recuperate at home.
The project is expected to greatly minimise hospital-acquired infections and reduce congestion in the wards to manage better-admitted patients.
