KP liver transplants resume under health card scheme

All is set for the resumption of transplants under the health card programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

- Tariq Butt

A 37-year-old woman is set to receive free liver transplant under the Sehat Card Plus (SCP) health insurance programme following the resumption of transplant services.

The tally of beneficiaries under free health initiative has reached 4.3 million, with women patients outnumbering men.

KP health officials said that the woman, a resident of Haripur district, would undergo the procedure at a private hospital in Islamabad for which the government would pay Rs6.2m.

They said the government would also provide post-transplant medication to both the recipient and the donor.

They said the patient was previously scheduled for the transplant but the procedure was postponed because the patient fell ill. They said it would be the first liver transplant since the provincial government resumed organ transplant services last month. The officials said renal transplants had already been resumed.

"More cases are in the pipeline. Nine people have already received the cashless renal transplant," an official said, adding that the last caretaker government had suspended transplants under the SCP citing lack of funds as the reason.

He said the government had already released Rs100 million for organ and cochlear transplants, while a demand for the release of Rs200 million more funding had been submitted for the continuation of the service.