The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) last month successfully conducted its first kidney transplant surgery on a non-Guyanese patient.
At a press conference at the GPHC’s Resources Centre yesterday, it was announced that the surgery was performed on a Grenadian national, Dr. Germaine Bristol, who had been on dialysis for over nine years.
Head of the GPHC’s Nephrology Department Dr. Kishore Persaud stated that the country’s programme, which is only six years old, is celebrating the success.
Dr. Persaud noted that transplantation in the country started in 2008 and was done periodically until 2014.
“In 2015, upon my return, we were told that we can never achieve transplantation in Guyana locally. Today, we are here to show that we have not only achieved it locally but we have risen to the standard that we can take one of the most challenging patients from our partner CARICOM country,” he said.
The patient, Dr. Bristol, noted that she first became ill while studying in the United Kingdom but did not let that stop her and she continued on to complete medical school and returned to Grenada to work. “It has been a very long and challenging road, because I’ve basically run out of access to hemodialysis so I had to spend my last leg on peritoneal dialysis and as I call it I was kinda at the end of the road. So I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to start anew,” she said.
Dr. Bristol’s Operation was done on June 14, 2021 and she received a donor kidney from her son, Gerome Bristol.
It was noted that the medical professional chose Guyana for the procedure as it was available to her unlike other countries, along with consideration for costs of the procedure elsewhere. “We did research and we found out that the Guyana programme was a successful programme and Dr. Kishore came highly recommended and it was another Caribbean country, which made it feel a lot more homey and those were the things that I wanted to experience,” she said.
During the operation, Dr. Kishore noted, one complication which arose was a delay in the graft function which meant that when the kidney was transplanted it took some time before it began to function. He said that in most cases the kidney starts to work immediately on the operating table but for Dr. Bristol it took almost three weeks. However, the team, he said, managed to pull her through successfully.
“Her kidney is almost back to functioning as normal. She will be able to go and do everything as a normal citizen again,” he reported.
Meanwhile, Dr. Persaud credited the success of the operation to the dedicated transplant team, anesthesia department, nurses, and administration of the GPHC and the Government of Guyana. He went on to add that he wished to recognise former Heath Minister and advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, whom he says believed that such a feat was possible.
Dr. Kishore then thanked President Irfaan Ali, who constantly encouraged the team in moving the programme forward and took time out of his busy schedule to inquire from the team how everything was going.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, who was present at the press conference, noted that initially Dr. Persaud had reached out to him and informed him of the request from Grenada to assist a doctor in receiving a transplant in Guyana. “But there were many obstacles and hurdles along the way. And then I subsequently got the call from Minister (Nickolas) Steele, the Minister of Health in Grenada to ask whether or not it would be possible for us to do this,” he noted.
Shortly after, all arrangements were made to have the procedure done safely here.
Dr. Anthony added that if it wasn’t for the ongoing pandemic the surgery would have been done much earlier.
The minister also commended the team at GPHC for conducting a successful surgery on a local medical professional Dr. Nyamekeye Griffith and wished both women well. Dr. Griffith told those present at the press conference that she was extremely grateful to be able to have had the operation done on June 28th and revealed that her donor was her cousin.
“So I’m here to stand as a testimony to show what an excellent job the transplant team has done, with limited resources. I was extremely impressed by the quality of service I received,” Dr. Griffith said.
Both Dr. Bristol and Dr. Griffith said they are grateful that they can return to their lives and continuing with work and career ventures without hindrances.
Legislative process
Dr. Persaud also highlighted that he and the team were also encouraged by the president as they work towards a legislative process.
“Having achieved this milestone, I beg that we work together to get the transplant legislation so that we can advance transplantation in Guyana and around the Caribbean region,” Dr. Persaud said.
Dr. Anthony noted that a multi-sectoral team has been working at developing such legislation and Dr. Persaud and team at the GPHC have been instrumental in pushing for it.
He added that over the last few months there has been quite a lot of progress as the first draft of the legislation has been completed and they have received comments from various stakeholders, including the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).
“We have also received comments from various stakeholder locally and we have also reached out to some international stakeholders… who have reviewed the document thoroughly and have provided some comments on what we should include and what we shouldn’t include,” the health minister indicated.
In addition, he mentioned that local authorities have also been able to reach out to the assistant Dean of the Harvard Law School, who has provided recommendations on the draft legislation and what can be done to have it strengthened.
“This legislation does not only contemplate doing transplantation here in Guyana but makes provision for a number of other areas which we intend to develop… So there are a number of things that this legislation would allow us to do and we are hoping that we can get the processes finished as quickly as possible and have this new law enacted,” he added.
In the meantime, Dr. Anthony stated, the government will continue to do what is necessary to assist the transplant department here. He mentioned that the vision for the health sector is one where they can develop various health services not only for Guyanese but to then extend those services to other Caribbean nations. “We want to become the centre for excellence for health for the Caribbean and offer a range of services in Guyana,” he noted.
