Transplant programme gets boost from Republic Bank

Barbados, November 26th, 2019 – Since 2015, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has made significant strides in establishing a sustainable national kidney transplant programme due to the contribution of Transplant Links Community (TLC) supported by Republic Bank’s Power to Make a Difference (PMAD) Program.

The project relies on a five-year commitment of £26,000 per year made available by Republic Bank, and the commitment of Elegant Hotel chain which started in 2017-2018 to provide accommodation for visiting TLC surgeons.

In a recent report on the initiative, TLC Project Manager, Aimee Jewitt-Harris, said the TLC team assisted Barbadian Surgeon, Dr. Margaret O’Shea, in June of this year, in performing two more living donor kidney transplants including one for a 13 year old girl.

This brought the number of living donor kidney transplants that have already been carried out to nine, and Jewitt-Harris said it is estimated that with the recent appointment of a full time transplant coordinator at the QEH the number of transplants per year will significantly increase.

“Transplant Links Community (TLC), with the support of Republic Bank Power to Make a Difference Program is making a direct difference to the lives of people with kidney failure, giving them a chance to live a normal life again through kidney transplantation. Through skill transfer from the TLC volunteer doctors and nurses to doctors and nurses at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, TLC is giving hope to many more through the establishing of a sustainable national kidney transplant programme, serving the people of Barbados.”

Jewitt-Harris said the transplant programme is helping to address the huge problem of kidney failure on the island, with many causes including congenital problems, high blood pressure and diabetes. Currently there are over 300 patients receiving dialysis treatment at the QEH, many of whom are eligible for transplantation.