Health Council On Live Donor Kidney Transplants
Citing the “risks to patient safety and high costs,” the Bermuda Health Council said they do “not support proposed on-island live donor kidney transplantation at this time.”
“According to guidance issued, the Health Council supports any efforts to enable Bermuda’s residents with chronic kidney disease to live healthy productive lives as long as local nephrologists are directly involved, trained health professionals are on island, and Bermuda’s health system infrastructure can support safe, cost-effective transplantation,” the Health Council said.
“The Bermuda Health Council did engage the expertise of a local nephrologist prior to issuing its guidance. According to local nephrologists that were consulted, “Bermuda, has formed strong alliances with transplant centres in the United States, and have been able to provide both living and cadaveric transplants to patient for the last 40 years. The tertiary care required by patients in the perioperative and very early stages of kidney transplant are better served at a transplant centre specialized to provide that service”.
Tawanna Wedderburn, CEO stated “For the 165 patients receiving dialysis treatment and 971 patients with chronic kidney disease, we can never compromise on delivering safe quality cost-effective care.
“Doing live donor kidney transplantation on the island at this time is too risky. In the meantime, more effort should be placed on preventing chronic kidney disease, and ensuring better coordination when transplants are appropriate. As nephrologists have stated, kidney transplantation is the optimal therapy for patients with kidney failure. We know that kidney transplants help people to live longer and improves their quality of life.
“The Health Council will continue to support kidney transplantation. This is why on 1st June 2017 we facilitated an increase in insurance coverage for kidney transplants from $30,000 to $100,000. Anti-rejection drugs associated with the transplant are fully covered. If you have chronic kidney disease or are on dialysis, talk to your doctor as soon as possible about the options, as we work together to envision Bermuda as the healthiest in the world.”
The Public Guidance Live Donor Kidney Transplant Services follows below [PDF here]:
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