Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The sole public sector Liver Transplant Unit (LTU) at PIMS in the federal capital is non-functional since December 2013, but the Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CA&DD) are hopeful to make it functional again by appointing new staff.

While replying to a question asked by MNA Dr Fauzia Hameed, the Minister for CA&DD in his written reply accepted that Organ Transplant Program is non-functional since December 2013, and it is currently on hold due to lack of a trained liver transplant surgeon, hepatologist, anesthetist and intensive care specialists as the posts are vacant despite multiple advertisements for their appointments.

The facility of liver transplantation was launched at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in 2010 under the directives of then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. It was later named as Centre for Organ Transplant on December 2012. The unit did its last failed liver transplant on May 2012 in which Attaullah Baloch, a 36 year-old ill-fated patient from Balochistan lost his life.

The sources inside the hospital claim that the said project was initiated in a hasty, unplanned and unprofessional manner, which resulted in its closure within two years of its establishment.

Meanwhile, the minister has also stated that the hepatitis B and C medicines were available at the start of the Centre for Liver Diseases as the medicines were provided by the former Ministry of Health before devaluation as a one tire consignment. The said medicines are in dire demand but have not been purchased since then by PIMS.

He said further the lifesaving and essentially required medicines as per hospital formulary are being given to patients, including hepatitis “C” patients, whereas all the equipment, state of art ICU and other necessary equipment are also available but the liver transplant surgeon, hepatologist, and intensive care specialist are not available so liver transplant is not possible without the said staff.

To cover the long delay in appointment in this unit, the Minister buys the argument that in 2015 a list of different vacant posts was sent to the FPSC for recruitment as it was the competent authority to fill these posts, whereas after the promulgation of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University ordinance the situation had changed and the matter went beyond the purview of FPSC.

In a written reply he further said that the PIMS administration had decided to fill the said vacant post on contract basis and posts had been advertised in the national press in December 2015.

A source inside the PIMS while commenting on the recent advertisement published by the PIMS administration has said; “It is not the first time that the administration is going to level the field to make this unit functional as earlier a proposal to this effect was submitted before the federal government in March 2014 and in August of the same year the PIMS administration claimed to submit a revised PC-1 of Rs2 billion for revamping of the unit.”