A medical consultant has called for the government to move quickly to get a law passed that would allow for harvesting of human organs and tissues for transplant.

Dr. Seth Lartey, Tissue and Organ Transplant Consultant at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), said this had become necessary given the sharp rise of cases of internal organs failure seen at the facilities.

Organs including the heart, kidney, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine and thymus often get damaged but the doctors are unable to help the situation because of the absence of a legislation, permitting the harvest of these vital organs to save the patients.

He was speaking at a meeting held with members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health at KATH – the nation’s second largest referral facility in Kumasi.

Dr. Seth Lartey

The Committee, chaired by Dr. Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, Berekum East Member of Parliament (MP), was on a three-day visit to the Ashanti Region to learn at first hand obstacles to quality healthcare services and how to overcome these.

Dr. Lartey said it should be made possible for patients requiring tissue and organs transplant to be treated in the country to save cost.

He added that with the appropriate legal regime, they would not need to be sent outside for treatment.

He said the nation should go the extra mile to make sure that the less privileged people who suffered from any organ failure had access to affordable care.

The Consultant suggested the establishment of a special insurance scheme for patients put on dialysis.

That, he indicated, was important to reduce the financial burden on such patients.

The Committee identified inadequate funding as the major headache of the facilities and noted that this had been compounded by delays in the reimbursement of the health insurance claims.

Dr. Twum-Nuamah applauded the health professionals for the excellent job they were doing to bring quality health care to the people under sometimes difficult conditions.

He gave the assurance that his Committee would engage the Health Ministry to get some abandoned projects re-started and the facilities supplied with vital equipment and logistics.