Wednesday, August 3, 2016

First kidney exchange in Nepal

A change in the law removed the last obstacle. The Himalayan Times has the story: Paired kidney exchange first time in Nepal

"Kathmandu, August 1

"The first Paired Exchange of kidneys between two families has taken place in Nepal.

"Khem Raj Niraula, 49, of Phulavari, Taplejung and Bishnu Babu Shrestha, 40, of Manakamana, Gorkha received a kidney at the Human Organ Transplant Centre in Bhaktapur. Both families donated a kidney to a recipient from the other family.
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“This is the first such kidney transplant in Nepal. It became possible after the amendment of the Organ Transplant Act 1998 in 2015,” said Dr Shrestha. “Such transplants were regarded as illegal in Nepal, which compelled many patients to travel to the India for treatment,” he added.

"The constitution of Nepal has revised the law related to organ transplant in which a family member can donate a kidney to husband, wife, siblings, maternal relatives, in-laws, relatives, step father, mother, grandparents or other family members.

"If the kidney doesn’t match, one can exchange a kidney with other families through mutual understanding. “This is done in western countries while in Nepal this is the first time such transplant has taken place,” Dr Shrestha informed.

“The Act has made it very easy for us to transplant kidney,” said Khem Raj Niraula, a patient. “If the law had not been in place, we would have to suffer a lot. I was even ready to go to India for treatment,” he added."

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