New Delhi, 4 October (Hindustan Reporter). The state-of-the-art Renal Transplant ICU has started in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bilaspur. The first successful renal transplant was performed in the hospital. On Friday, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, during his visit to Bilaspur, interacted with the first kidney transplant recipient and kidney donor at the hospital and learned about their health. Both are healthy now.
On this occasion, JP Nadda said that the start of renal transplant services at AIIMS Bilaspur is a remarkable milestone in the history of the institute. This will fill the long standing gap of transplant services in Himachal Pradesh. He said that “an initial grant of Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned to further strengthen this facility available within the state for people requiring kidney transplant. This will provide a lot of help to poor and needy patients. The Union Health Minister said that this facility is also available under PMJAY and Himcare health insurance schemes. AIIMS will act as a catalyst for setting up multiorgan and bone marrow transplant services in the near future. Apart from raising awareness about organ donation, it is expected to help 50-100 patients every year.
On this occasion, he announced that work on the construction of a 250-bed Vishram Sadan at a cost of Rs 25 crore will start soon. The Health Minister also announced setting up of Regional Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at AIIMS Bilaspur. The Union Health Minister also chaired a high-level meeting to review the functioning of the institute and evaluate the implementation of important health care initiatives. Anurag Thakur, MP (Lok Sabha), Jairam Thakur (former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition) and officials of AIIMS Bilaspur were also present during the review meeting. The achievements, current projects and future goals of the institute for improving health services in Himachal Pradesh were discussed in the meeting.