Kidney transplants soon to be offered in St Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis is on the verge of providing kidney transplant surgeries at its principal healthcare facility, Joseph N France General Hospital, as announced this week by Prime Minister Terrance Drew.

The Prime Minister made the announcement during his appearance on Freedom FM’s Issues program on Wednesday.

Targeting local patients unable to travel

He emphasized the critical need for this service, particularly for citizens unable to travel overseas for treatment.

These people are dying sooner than they should because they don’t have access to transplants. I cannot allow our people to die when we have an opportunity to save their lives,” Drew expressed.

The new renal transplant program

While championing preventive healthcare, he urged citizens to adopt healthier habits such as regular exercise, balanced diet, maintaining blood pressure and sugar levels, and overall lifestyle adjustments.

However, for those who fall victim to end-stage renal disease, he assured them of a fallback plan.

“We want to make sure that they have an option for renal transplant and we are going to launch the renal transplant program,” he said.

Prime Minister Drew also revealed that in the near future, a team from Canada will visit St. Kitts and Nevis to provide specialized training to the Haemodialysis Unit’s staff.

This aims to enhance the utilization of the recently acquired dialysis machines, further fortifying the nation’s fight against kidney diseases.