Now kidney, liver and bone marrow transplant all under one roof in RMLIMS

Lucknow: To provide three super-speciality facilities under one roof, the Uttar Pradesh government has approved the setting up of Kidney, Liver and Bone Marrow Transplant Center at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) in Lucknow.

The center will be set up with a budget of Rs 18.2 crore, which includes an initial installment of Rs 4.5 crore, which has been released to operationalize the project.

According to a soundbyte to the media received from Professor Sonia Nityanand, Director of RMLIMS, after kidney transplant, there are preparations to start liver and bone marrow transplant centers under one roof.

The center will be located on the sixth and seventh floors of the super-specialty block of RMLIMS. Since all the three services will be operated under one roof, it will save the institute from the significant financial burden of running them separately by arranging for dedicated manpower and equipment for each facility. She said that this center will prove to be a boon for patients across the state.

The design of the center has already been approved and various departments which were earlier located on these floors have been shifted. With additional beds and operation theatres, the center is expected to reduce the waiting time for kidney transplant from 4-6 months to 6-8 weeks. Additionally, two new facilities dedicated to bone marrow and liver transplantation will operate simultaneously. Bone marrow transplant will be led by Professor Nityananda, while hepatologist Dr Piyush Upadhyay will lead liver transplant, including in children. During the initial phase, the Liver Transplant Institute will collaborate with experts from the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Delhi, where these procedures are often performed. The institute will then be able to complete these processes independently.

Once the tender process is completed the center will aim to begin operations within 12 months. The director further said that this will benefit patients as they will not have to move between different buildings for diagnosis and procedures, thereby saving time and energy.