KOTA KINABALU: The Universiti Malaysia Sabah Hospital (HUMS) is committed to exploring the possibility of establishing a transplant centre, said its director, Associate Professor Dr Malehah Mohd Noh.
"Currently, an organ procurement unit has been established within HUMS, led by our deputy clinical director, Dr Abdul Jabbar Ismail, a former intensivist (critical care doctor) from Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2.
"We have organised several seminars and sessions within our team to understand the purposes and requirements, and we have sent them for training at hospitals under the Health Ministry.
"To establish the unit, you need the right team. You need a surgeon, an anaesthesiologist, and the procurement unit.
"We also need a full-time kidney specialist based here and a transplant surgeon in Sabah. We should start planning and training people here for the future," she said, adding that the hospital targets to have a fully operational dialysis unit by January 2026.
Dr Malehah was speaking during a press conference following the handover of a dialysis treatment initiative for two B40 patients by Qhazanah Sabah Bhd at Menara Kinabalu.
She added that organ transplants were crucial for those requiring lifelong dialysis.
However, she noted that there is a long waiting list, and some transplant procedures must be conducted outside Sabah.
Also present were Sabah deputy Health Medical Services director Dr Shim Jyh Ye, Queen Elizabeth Hospital director Dr William Gotulis, and Qhazanah Sabah chairman Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob.
Earlier, Dr Yusof stated that about 15.5 per cent of the population in Malaysia has renal issues.
He added that, for now, Qhazanah Sabah, a state government-linked company, is sponsoring two patients for dialysis treatment, which costs RM50,000 per patient per year.
In Sabah, 23 government hospitals provide dialysis services to the public.