Lubaga Hospital Launches Uganda’s First Organ Transplant Centre
A significant milestone has been reached in Uganda’s medical landscape as Lubaga Hospital proudly inaugurates the nation’s inaugural Organ Transplant Centre. In a brief statement, the hospital highlighted the life-transforming potential of organ transplants, emphasizing their ability to reshape destinies.
Last September, the hospital management made a promise to elevate the facility by establishing a cutting-edge, specialized organ transplant centre. The newly established Specialist Centre at Lubaga Hospital stands poised to provide modern transplant services, offer over 25 specialized and super-specialized medical treatments, boast an affluent in-patient wing, and extend private outpatient services, as the hospital conveyed via Twitter.
A ceremony to mark the momentous occasion was graced by prominent figures, including the Archbishop of Kampala Diocese, Paul Ssemwogerere, and Prof. Patrick Kyamanywa, Vice Chancellor of Uganda Martyrs University. The hospital’s transplant theatre, now officially commissioned, was dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Rita Moser, Lubaga Hospital’s first medical superintendent.
This remarkable achievement positions Lubaga Hospital as the first private healthcare facility in Uganda to offer organ transplant services. It is anticipated that this development will alleviate the financial burden for many Ugandans who would otherwise need to seek such procedures abroad, as reported by UBC TV.
The Ministry of Health recently disclosed that several hospitals have expressed interest in becoming designated organ transplant centres following the implementation of the Uganda Human Organ Donation and Transplant Act, 2022. Dr. Moses Muwanga, the Assistant Commissioner for Clinical Services at the Ministry of Health, affirmed that both public and private hospitals are keen to participate in organ transplantation, with Lubaga Hospital being one of the private institutions seeking designation.
The Act, enacted on March 15 and signed into law by President Museveni, stipulates that the capacity of each centre seeking designation should be evaluated by the Uganda Organ Donation and Transplant Council. The council subsequently recommends eligible centres to the Health Minister for organ transplant authorization.
The law mandates that a designated transplant centre must possess essential features, including a dedicated Intensive Care Unit for transplant cases, a team of specialized medical professionals like transplant surgeons, anaesthesiologists, and transplant nurses, as well as designated theatres for both donors and recipients.
Dr. Julius Luyimbaazi, Executive Director of Lubaga Hospital, affirmed the hospital’s readiness to undertake this groundbreaking responsibility. With a history spanning over 123 years and a 240-bed capacity referral unit offering a comprehensive range of specialized services, Lubaga Hospital is well-equipped to embrace this new chapter in healthcare provision.
The hospital’s journey began on October 18, 1899, when six missionary sisters of Our Lady of Africa set foot on Lubaga Hill, gifted a plot of land by Kabaka Daudi Chwa. From its origins as an open-air dispensary to evolving into a twenty-bed hospital by 1900, Lubaga Hospital has consistently grown to fulfill its mission of providing healthcare for Ugandans. Dr. Julius Luyimbaazi remarked, “As the second-oldest hospital in the country, we take pride in having taken care of the healthcare needs of Ugandans for the last 122 years, through times of war, epidemics, natural disasters, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.”