by pna
The first kidney transplant at the government-owned Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) here on Sunday was successful with the
kidney donor and recipient now doing well.
This was disclosed by Dr. Roland Mejia, R1MC chief, who identified the donor as Isagani Patongan, 32, of Malasiqui town who
donated his kidney to his second cousin, Maria Onrovia, 28, a nurse at R1MC and a native of Bonuan, Dagupan City.
Patongan is set to be discharged from the hospital in two to three days while Onrovia will remain in the hospital for a week for further observation.
Mejia told newsmen that Patongan, as the
first kidney donor, will enjoy free lifetime consultation and treatment at R1MC. Onrovia, on the other hand, will be accorded the same benefits for a lifetime for being the first recipient of kidney from a living donor performed for the first time by R1MC.
After the breakthrough, Mejia announced that kidney transplant for an indigent patient will probably cost P300,000 at R1MC. The amount is lower than when the procedure is done in a Manila hospital which will cost from P900,000 to P1.5 million.
Mejia said the
successful kidney transplant was performed by a team of doctors of R1MC led by Dr. Adolfo Parayno, a native of Calasiao, Pangasinan. Members of his team included Dr. Abelardo Coquia, Beth Dr. Estuesta, Dr. Francisco Untalan and Dr. Angelica Asuncion, all nephrologists.
They were assisted by resident physicians and nurses of R1MC.
Another team led by Dr. Paquito Fuentes retrieved the kidney from the donor.
"I am happy that we were able to set up a team of doctors here at R1MC. We are hoping that we will be able to cater to patients not only from Pangasinan but in the entire Northern Luzon Area," Parayno said.
He said the team is capable of performing kidney transplant initially once a week but soon three times weekly, like at National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) where he trained.
Parayno said those who need kidney transplant from a healthy person are those undergoing hemo-dialysis procedures regularly, pointing out that when one has a new kidney, he or she no longer needs dialysis but only medication.
He said the kidney transplant was done from 7 a.m. up to 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
After 24 hours, he said the new kidney on the recipient is now functioning normally as indicated by the level of creatinine in the patient's blood.
Parayno said he did his first several kidney transplants during his training at NKTI and all the recipients are now living as normal persons.
He said after his training, he went back to Pangasinan to help his provincemates who are in need of kidney transplant.
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