Two Seychellois diagnosed with kidney failure have recovered from successful kidney transplant operations carried out in India earlier this year.

One of the surgeries, performed on a 23 year-old woman in March, is the first of a series of operations that the Ministry of Health is organising for Seychellois with kidney failure.

Dr Lawrence Reginald, who assisted with the procedure in India, said the operation went smoothly for both the recipient of the kidney and its donor, who was the patient’s mother.  The patient returned to Seychelles in April after a seven-week stay in India.  Her health will continue to be monitored here in Seychelles.

Dr Reginald described the procedure, which was performed at Madras Medical Mission Hospital, as “well-organised and highly professional work.” 

He said he was also impressed with the hospital’s technological capabilities and the know-how of its principal surgeon.

“Their expertise is at a very high level, and I think the conditions there are better suited for our patients,” said Dr Reginald, who currently operates a specialised clinic at Victoria Hospital designed to handle patients with kidney failure.

The operation also allowed a delegation of Seychellois medical personnel, who accompanied Dr Reginald and the patient to India, to learn more about post-transplant care and other options for patients with kidney failure.

Elsia Sinon, senior staff nurse in charge of haemodialysis, said that the training would be used to better educate local nurses and the patients themselves.

According to Dr Reginald, 41 patients in Seychelles are currently on dialysis, of which 40 percent could be eligible for a kidney transplant operation. 

However, five new cases of Chronic Renal Failure, the condition in which both kidneys shut down, have been diagnosed this year.

The Ministry of Health currently has seven patients in its “pipeline,” who are slated to undergo kidney transplants at Madras Medical Mission in the future.

Dr Reginald said the connection with the hospital was first established by health minister Patrick Pillay, in a visit to India a year ago.

The other transplant operation, performed on a man also aged 23, was originally organised privately by the man’s family last year.  The ministry is now paying for his post-operation medicine and treatment.

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