First child kidney transplants in Myanmar today

February 23, 2017

Two children will undergo kidney transplantation for the first time in Myanmar at the Urine and Kidney Ward of the 300-bed children’s hospital in Mandalay today and tomorrow, said Dr. Aung Kyaw Oo, Chief Medical Officer of the Mandalay Children’s Hospital.

The kidney transplant surgery will be jointly undertaken by the health education unit, the pediatric surgery unit, the Mandalay Kidney Transplant Team and the Singapore Organ Transplant Team.

“The children whose kidneys are no longer functioning properly need to have kidney transplants, which is better than cleansing the kidneys (dialysis) regularly. This is the first time for child kidney transplants in Myanmar. We will operate the kidney transplant on children who are suffering from chronic kidney diseases,” Dr. Aung Kyaw Oo added.

The Ministry of Health and Sports granted approval for kidney transplants to be done at the 300-bed children’s hospital in Mandalay on 10 June, 2016, but no operations have been attempted until today. The kidney transplant team involves 22 physicians and surgeons. “There might be some complications with the kidney transplant operation because we have to transplant the adult kidney into children’s bodies. But we are all eager to do the operation. We hope that the operation will be successful,” said Professor Min Thu, a Urine and Kidney transplant surgeon at the Mandalay hospital. The government has provided Ks16 million for the operation. After the surgery, two physicians will monitor the children. Officials said more donors are needed for future kidney operations.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar