Kidney Transplant : Reality In Cameroon

On February 11, 2023, the Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, through a tweet hailed staff of the Yaounde General Hospital for carrying out successful kidney transplants on some three compatriots. The message to the world was a signal that Cameroonians do not need to travel abroad to undergo a kidney transplant, for they needed to have confidence in the health system of the country.The surgery to place a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly was carried out between January 31 and February 2, 2023, on patients between the ages of 25, 28 and 33. The donors were all family members of the recipients.
The kidneys of these patients had lost their ability to remove waste, minerals and fluid from the blood by producing urine. As such, harmful levels of fluid and waste accumulated in the body, leading to increasing blood pressure and resulting in kidney failure (end-stage renal disease). Information from the Ministry of Public Health indicates that chronic kidney disease affects one in ten adults in Cameroon. Haemodialysis was the only renal replacement therapy (for adults) in the country and its sub-region until November 10, 2021. Thereafter thro...