George Subraj calls for national kidney donor program in Guyana

President of Zara Realty Holding Corporation Mr. George Subraj made an impassioned plea for an immediate Kidney Donor Program in Guyana on World Kidney Day, observed on March 8, 2012.
“Chronic kidney diseases are on the rise internationally, but in Guyana the number of cases has increased multifold. The situation demands very watchful eyes. With a vibrant donor program we may be able to arrest this situation as transplant is the only real long term solution,” said Subraj on a National Communications Network (NCN) program accompanied by the foreign medical team led by Dr. Rahul Jindal.
“The delay in getting a kidney if someone does not have a compatible and willing relative or friend is often frustrating as dialysis is time consuming and costly. So it is important we have such a registry compiled.
“Potential donors do not have to be alarmed that their kidney will be harvested and then left idly or ultimately rendered useless. This is not the case. Basically all they have to do is submit their names at the Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital, and it is only when someone requires a kidney, then contact will be made to see if the registry donor is compatible,” explained Mr. Subraj.
The kidney is a filtering organ and when it is not functioning properly then the blood becomes noxious. A watchful life style is the first step of prevention “but the number of chronic cases here demands a proactive response as you can see how many transplantations surgeries we have planned and how many we have completed,” said George.
The medical team had just successfully completed two more living kidney transplantations, performed 8 related surgeries and met with 53 new patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases at the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital on a brief 6-day visit to Guyana.
The patients Pushpawati Goolcharran and Arthur Bond have already been discharged from the hospital and are recuperating well. Goolcharran’s new kidney was donated by her sister-in-law and Bond by his son. Mr. Bond, from La Grange, West Bank Demerara, received his new kidney from his son Uthandi Bond and Goolcharan, a Canadian-based Guyanese from her sister-in-law Omawattie Jabo.
The medical team that undertook the procedure in conjunction with the staff of the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital is: Dr. Rahul M. Jindal  and  Dr. Eric A. Elster – Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Dr.Stephen Guy and Dr. Alden Doyle from Drexel University, Anesthesiologist Arthur Womble and David Oliver (Dialysis Nurse) also from WRAMC.
According to Dr. Jindal, “four more patients and their donors for the next round of transplants later in the year are already screened. We also saw the patients who received transplants in the past by us and also in India,” he said.
Dr. Jindal holds the unique distinction of undertaking all the living kidney transplantations in Guyana, and readily shares his knowledge with the local doctors to assist the patients whenever he is back in the states.
“The experience and knowledge which Dr. Jindal and his team impart locally is not only invaluable to the medical community but to the nation as a whole as education and prevention is the key to fighting most diseases,” reported Subraj.
This was readily enforced by Clinical Dialysis Expert, Dave Oliver, “prevention should be placed at the pinnacle of addressing this health condition. This is the least expensive alternative which includes being knowledgeable about one’s blood pressure, blood sugar and diet. High blood pressure is known to damage virtually every organ in the body with the most visible effect being kidney failure, heart condition and vision.”
The kidney transplant program which was introduced a few years ago at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation has since shifted to the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital but is still receiving the support from the Ministry of Health, according to Subraj.
He revealed that in the United States for instance, a kidney transplant operation could cost in excess of US$150,000 today while in the past when different charities were engaged in taking patients to India it amounted to about US$60,000 but lacked the follow-up care.
It is for this reason that Dr Jindal has been calling for a system to be put in place where there is sustained follow-up of patients.  At the moment, he said that the service provided at the Balwant Singh hospital is not limited to those who were operated on there but persons who were treated overseas can also access follow-up care.
Accompanying Mr. Subraj on the trip was Mahindra Jainarine and popular realtor and radio host Mr. Jas Persaud. Mr. Mahindra also provided some funding for team’s mission.
Subraj, when asked how others can assist this pioneering philanthropic project, said, “I would like to see residents here call up their relatives in Guyana and have them join the donor program. The more names we can get it’s a larger registry we would have to work with and so the chances of saving someone’s life would be greater.”
President of Zara Realty Holding Corporation Mr. George Subraj made an impassioned plea for an immediate Kidney Donor Program in Guyana on World Kidney Day, observed on March 8, 2012.“Chronic kidney diseases are on the rise internationally, but in Guyana the number of cases has increased multifold. The situation demands very watchful eyes. With a vibrant donor program we may be able to arrest this situation as transplant is the only real long term solution,” said Subraj on a National Communications Network (NCN) program accompanied by the foreign medical team led by Dr. Rahul Jindal. “The delay in getting a kidney if someone does not have a compatible and willing relative or friend is often frustrating as dialysis is time consuming and costly. So it is important we have such a registry compiled. “Potential donors do not have to be alarmed that their kidney will be harvested and then left idly or ultimately rendered useless. This is not the case. Basically all they have to do is submit their names at the Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital, and it is only when someone requires a kidney, then contact will be made to see if the registry donor is compatible,” explained Mr. Subraj. The kidney is a filtering organ and when it is not functioning properly then the blood becomes noxious. A watchful life style is the first step of prevention “but the number of chronic cases here demands a proactive response as you can see how many transplantations surgeries we have planned and how many we have completed,” said George.          The medical team had just successfully completed two more living kidney transplantations, performed 8 related surgeries and met with 53 new patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases at the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital on a brief 6-day visit to Guyana.The patients Pushpawati Goolcharran and Arthur Bond have already been discharged from the hospital and are recuperating well. Goolcharran’s new kidney was donated by her sister-in-law and Bond by his son. Mr. Bond, from La Grange, West Bank Demerara, received his new kidney from his son Uthandi Bond and Goolcharan, a Canadian-based Guyanese from her sister-in-law Omawattie Jabo.The medical team that undertook the procedure in conjunction with the staff of the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital is: Dr. Rahul M. Jindal  and  Dr. Eric A. Elster – Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Dr.Stephen Guy and Dr. Alden Doyle from Drexel University, Anesthesiologist Arthur Womble and David Oliver (Dialysis Nurse) also from WRAMC.According to Dr. Jindal, “four more patients and their donors for the next round of transplants later in the year are already screened. We also saw the patients who received transplants in the past by us and also in India,” he said. Dr. Jindal holds the unique distinction of undertaking all the living kidney transplantations in Guyana, and readily shares his knowledge with the local doctors to assist the patients whenever he is back in the states.“The experience and knowledge which Dr. Jindal and his team impart locally is not only invaluable to the medical community but to the nation as a whole as education and prevention is the key to fighting most diseases,” reported Subraj.This was readily enforced by Clinical Dialysis Expert, Dave Oliver, “prevention should be placed at the pinnacle of addressing this health condition. This is the least expensive alternative which includes being knowledgeable about one’s blood pressure, blood sugar and diet. High blood pressure is known to damage virtually every organ in the body with the most visible effect being kidney failure, heart condition and vision.”The kidney transplant program which was introduced a few years ago at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation has since shifted to the Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital but is still receiving the support from the Ministry of Health, according to Subraj.He revealed that in the United States for instance, a kidney transplant operation could cost in excess of US$150,000 today while in the past when different charities were engaged in taking patients to India it amounted to about US$60,000 but lacked the follow-up care.It is for this reason that Dr Jindal has been calling for a system to be put in place where there is sustained follow-up of patients.  At the moment, he said that the service provided at the Balwant Singh hospital is not limited to those who were operated on there but persons who were treated overseas can also access follow-up care.Accompanying Mr. Subraj on the trip was Mahindra Jainarine and popular realtor and radio host Mr. Jas Persaud. Mr. Mahindra also provided some funding for team’s mission.Subraj, when asked how others can assist this pioneering philanthropic project, said, “I would like to see residents here call up their relatives in Guyana and have them join the donor program. The more names we can get it’s a larger registry we would have to work with and so the chances of saving someone’s life would be greater.”