The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is working to secure a legal framework to formalize transplantation services with a specific focus on kidney transplant services, the Board Chairman, Dr. David Nkansah-Dwamena, has said.
Dr Nkansah-Dwamena urged Parliament to ensure the passage of such a bill when it is introduced in order to save the lives of Ghanaians who are sick and in need of help.
Speaking at the launch of the centenary anniversary of the existence of the hospital in Accra on Monday, October 9, he indicated that the management of the facility, with the support of the board, will be training and retraining staff on the transplant services.
“The board, under my leadership, is dedicated and committed to expanding the services that are being provided. This has already begun with the introduction of kidney transplant services by our local team of surgeons and other professionals.
“With this aspect, the board is supporting management to secure the necessary legislative framework to formalize our transportation services in the country. We will also support the introduction of other services and procedures through further training for staff that will make it needless for Ghanaians to travel to other countries for medical care.
“We are therefore calling on parliament and other agencies to support the preparation and passage of the law on tissue donation, harvesting, and storing of various organs that will save the lives of thousands of Ghanaians who are sick and in need of help,” he said.
Dr. Nkansah-Dwamena further called on corporate bodies and individuals to support the hospital.
“By all standards, Korle Bu is a large hospital with complexities that require hard work, dedication, and commitment to address. Since the appointment of the board, under my leadership, we have dedicated our attention and energy to several projects that are currently ongoing in the hospital to see their successful completion.
“We plan to ensure that Korle Bu improves our service delivery to ensure the country achieves universal health coverage. Some of them have been completed and are ready to be commissioned, others are nearing completion and some are also yet to take off.
“One attention is on the provision of new infrastructure to shore up the capacity of the hospital to meet the demands of our patients. We also have to provide directions on some of the aging infrastructure that require replacements. In spite of the measures that the government is providing for new infrastructure, there is still the need for the support of corporate bodies and individuals to complement the efforts of the government.
“The help and support of corporate bodies and individuals will help in comprehensively addressing the challenges confronting the hospital.”
The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital was established on 9 October 1923 and has grown from an initial 200-bed capacity to 2,000.
It is currently the third largest hospital in Africa and the leading national referral centre in Ghana.
Korle-Bu, which means the valley of the Korle Lagoon, was established as a general hospital to address the health needs of the indigenous people under the administration of Sir Gordon Guggisberg, then Governor of the Gold Coast.
