From: Dianabasi Effiong, Calabar The Federal Government has been enjoined to enact enabling laws that would promote, protect and drive organ donation and tissue...
From: Dianabasi Effiong, Calabar
The Federal Government has been enjoined to enact enabling laws that would promote, protect and drive organ donation and tissue harvest and preservation in Nigeria.
Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba, former Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, made the call in Calabar.The Consultant Surgeon, who delivered the 70th University of Calabar Inaugural Lecture, also urged relevant authorities to encourage the establishment of liver and multi-organ transplantation services in Nigeria.
The theme of the Inaugural lecture delivered by Ndoma-Egba’s was “Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) Tree-The Green Tree of life: Do We Have The Liver? “.
Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary surgery refers to a separate sub-specialty of general surgery involving the surgery on diseases of the liver, pancreas and bile.
He also called for the development of dedicated HPB units in all hospitals especially Teaching Hospitals “to train the critical human capital to practice this challenging field of surgery”.
Ndoma-Egba also urged the Nigerian government to promote the training HPB manpower by establishing centres of excellence for what he called Minimal Access Surgery and Endoscopy.
Endoscopy is a nonsurgical procedure used to examine a person’s digestive tract using an endoscope, a flexible tube with a light and camera attached to it.
He also called for the development of related fields of HPB such as international Radiology, Molecular Biology and Oncology (diagnosis and treatment of cancer).
He reiterated that medical services would thrive in Nigeria if government barred foreign medical travels and promote “our own version of medical tourism”.
He said that government should provide the means for free treatment of cancer, diabetic and tuberculosis patients and immunisation against hepatitis B and C for all vulnerable groups.
“There is no justification for National Health Insurance scheme not to apply to all Nigerians or majority thereof,” Ndoma-Egba said.
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