KP Residents Living Abroad Get Free Transplants On Health Card

Peshawar: Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are coming from abroad to get free liver and kidney transplants using Sehat Card Plus (SCP) as the Ministry of Health has merged 34 other hospitals to cater to the large number of patients.

"I have been working in Malaysia for the past few years. I returned when I had health complications because the treatment there was very expensive," said Abdul Rahman, 51, a resident of Buner district, who went to a local hospital. An MRI was taken. It showed that his liver was damaged.

"Then we contacted the health department to conduct a liver transplant at Sehat Card Plus. My son gave me his liver, thanks to which I am now living normally," he said.

He underwent a free liver transplant at a hospital in Islamabad. In Malaysia, he was told it would cost 9 million rupees, a sum he could not afford.

The department includes 34 more hospitals.

Mr Rahman said his family members asked him to come from Malaysia to take advantage of the free transplant in SCP.

To date, 37 free liver transplants have been performed at SCP.

In one case, the costs amounted to 5.2 million rupees. Last year, the government included liver transplantation in the cashless treatment program.

37 residents of the district have benefited from the inclusion of liver transplantation in the free treatment program, and 10 more people are planning to receive the same treatment at SCPK.

Officials said most of the people came from foreign countries because they could not farm. Residents of the region also benefit from free kidney transplant services.

14-year-old Ahmed Ali was brought from the United Arab Emirates by his parents when he had kidney problems. His father, Aman Khan, who works for a private company in Dubai, said his son's kidneys were damaged and he was on dialysis, but when friends told him about SCP, he took him to Peshawar.

He said, "Three months ago, doctors operated on my son. Now he is fine. We are all praying for this facility for Imran Khan and Prime Minister Mehmood Khan. The Ministry of Health has been very kind to help us."

More than 120 kidney transplants have been performed at the center so far, and more than 12 more are being prepared for the same treatment, officials said.

Center for Social Planning Director Dr Amir Rafiq Khattak told Dawn that there is no record of people coming from foreign countries for free medical services, but anyone with a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa identity card can avail these facilities.

"According to the rules, we check the credentials of the patients in the national database registry and registration authority and allow them free treatment regardless of their financial situation," he said.

Dr. Amir said that he had recently terminated the contracts of 48 hospitals for not providing quality services to patients under the free healthcare program. He said that 34 new items were approved after proper assessment by the expert committee. He said hospitals would have to apply for permission within six months.

“There is no compromise in the quality of treatment under the Universal Health Coverage Act 2022 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. To receive treatment in a hospital, their doctors and infrastructure, including emergency rooms, operating rooms, etc. should be There are 1000 hospitals in Azerbaijan. across the country where people can get free services. There are 203 such medical facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dr Amir said that around 9.5 million families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and newly merged territories are entitled to free health services. The government has spent about 37 billion rupees to provide free medical facilities to 1.5 million people. Each family can receive treatment up to 1 million rupees per year.

Alba, published on December 5, 2022

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