500 free transplants
Select people awaiting organ transplants will be offered free operations, the Public Health Ministry said yesterday.
The ministry said 500 people would receive free organ transplants to mark His Majesty the King's 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne.And the ministry wants people to register as organ donors in the event they are involved in a fatal accident, or become brain dead. The ministry is working with the Thai Red Cross Society to provide the free operations, said acting Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr Pratch Boonyawongwiroj. The operations are scheduled to begin on June 1 and continue until next May. The ministry and the Red Cross are encouraging people to register with any of 95 state hospitals to become part of the scheme. The hospitals will contact the relatives of patients who are brain dead, but have organs suitable for harvest, and ask them if they are prepared to donate them. As of the end of February, there were approximately 1,800 patients waiting for donated parts, mostly kidneys. During that time just 50 people have donated body parts. On average, about 3 per cent of people on waiting lists die each year. With a budget of Bt26 million, the body transplant scheme will be conducted by 34 hospitals, mostly state-run, 26 of which are in Bangkok. Arthit KhwankhomThe Nation
|
