(Publish from Houston Texas USA)
(By Muhammad Mansoor Butt, LAHORE)
The 37th meeting of the Monitoring Authority of the Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Authority (PHOTA) approved major initiatives, granting Lahore General Hospital permission to establish a Bone Bank, and to conduct Bone Marrow and Corneal Transplantation procedures. Doctors Hospital & Medical Center was also authorized to carry out Renal Transplantation.
The meeting was chaired by Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique. Additional Secretary Technical Dr. Muhammad Waseem, Director General PHOTA Prof. Dr. Amir Zaman Khan, CEO Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr. Saqib Aziz, and representatives from various departments and medical societies attended the session. Dr. Arif Nadeem and Dr. Muhammad Yaser Khan from the Transplantation Society joined via video link.
During the meeting, the implementation report of decisions made in the 36th session was presented and the minutes were approved. The authority also sanctioned the procurement of IT services for PHOTA and endorsed the deceased corneal transplantation guidelines for transplantation and eye banking.
Addressing the meeting, Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the capacity of PHOTA is being enhanced in line with the vision of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif. He emphasized that providing quality healthcare services to the public is the government’s top priority and that strict action is being taken against illegal organ transplantation in the province. He added that PHOTA’s system is playing a crucial role in saving thousands of human lives.
