IGIMS to have Kidney Transplant Center soon

PATNA: Bihar government on Sunday announced that the first kidney transplant centre of the state would be set up at the prestigious Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) here.

State health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said a decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of the institute`s Board of Governors (BOG) held on Saturday, which was attended, among others, by leader of opposition in Bihar legislative assembly Abdul Bari Siddiqui, principal secretary, health, Amarjeet Sinha and IGIMS director Dr Arun Kumar.

The minister said the kidney transplant centre would be in conformity with the Organ Transplant Act. The government would soon create all necessary infrastructure at the IGIMS to establish the centre, he added.

He stated new rules and regulation would be drafted to run IGIMS as the existing one included some rules on the pattern of AIIMS, New Delhi while some other rules were included at the behest of the state. The new rules would be ready within two months.

The government has also decided, Choubey said, to provide free medicare facilities to people below poverty line (BPL) at IGIMS. They would be given drugs free of cost, and a generic drug shop would be opened on the institute`s premises. The minister also announced 24-hour emergency service at the IGIMS, with one senior consultant always present on duty. Now onwards, samples for different investigations would not be sent outside as the same would be performed at the institute itself, he said.

IGIMS has now got a new dean and medical superintendent with the appointment of HoD, neurosurgery, Dr Mahendra Singh, and Dr U S Rai respectively. The minister said an ad would be issued in a week to appoint a regular medical superintendent.

Choubey also said a nodal library would be established at IGIMS which would be linked with all the six medical colleges of the state. Two nursing colleges would also be opened on the institute`s premises, he said adding a building for patients` attendants would also be constructed. The government has also decided to cultivate herbal plants on the IGIMS premises, Choubey said and added yoga and acupressure system of treatment would also be introduced in the Institute.

IGIMS would also have its own hospital management department soon, for which approval had been given for creation of posts, Choubey stated. He also said that with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC), the department of biomedical engineering of the institute would be scaled up. Besides, a modular operation theatre machine would also be purchased to upgrade anaesthesia department.