KUWAIT, March 7, (KUNA): A Kuwaiti specialist on Sunday revealed a Kuwaiti-American coordination to open a medical center for liver and pancreas transplantation in Kuwait.
The center will serve diabetic people wanting to replace their pancreas or transplant livers, which would spare them from traveling abroad to have these surgeries, said liver, pancreas and organ transplantation specialist Dr Hussein Hayati on the occasion of holding the first liver and pancreas conference.
Idea behind establishing the center came as an outcome of a national program to promote the rarely-carried-out transplantation, especially in Kuwait and the Gulf, Dr. Hayati said, noting that only one pancreas transplantation procedure was done in the history of medicine in Kuwait, as such procedure have a high cost of nearly KD 500,000 ($1.7 million).
Another reason for establishing the center was the high demand on having these surgeries overseas, which forced medical centers in Europe and the United States to turn down patients in need for them, and this is where establishing a center in Kuwait becomes handy, Dr. Hayati added.
The conference is seen as a step toward establishing the center, as consultations with a medical center of the University of Miami are taking place in order to discuss the issue, Hayati noted.
The one-year consultations will be then followed by bringing specialists from the university to work at the center according to need, he said.
The three-day conference, to be inaugurated at Salwa Hall of the Marina Hotel later tonight, is the first of its kind to be held in the Gulf area, as it will discuss new transplantation techniques, as well as medications used.
Hayati pointed out that nine specialists from the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Korea and China will take part in the conference.
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti government is eager to develop the health sector in the country, said an official here on Sunday.
Assistant Undersecretary for Public Services and Maintenance in the Health Ministry Samir Al-Asfour told the press on the occasion of holding of the first conference and exhibition of construction companies and hospital maintenance to be held here on April 12 that the event would provide the latest in terms of construction products to build hospitals and health centers in Kuwait.
Specialized companies and contractors now have the chance to showcase their products during the event, said the official, adding that the exhibition would mainly focus on the upcoming Jaber Al-Ahmad hospital to be built in south Surrah area.
He added that an event discussing the construction of the Abdullah house for treating children with cancer would also be held on the sidelines of the conference, urging those willing to donate to this cause to do so during the exhibition.