Staff Reporter
LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that strict action is being taken against illegal transplantation of human organs in the province.He made these remarks while chairing the 35th meeting of the Monitoring Authority of the Punjab Human Organ Transplantation Authority (PHOTA), held at the Department of Specialized Health Care and Medical Education on Thursday.During the meeting, Director General PHOTA Professor Muhammad Aamir Zaman Khan presented various agendas for approval. An implementation report on the decisions taken during the previous 34th meeting was also presented, and the minutes of that meeting were formally approved.
The authority gave approval for the registration and renewal of various government and private hospitals for kidney, liver, and cornea transplantation. Among them, Begum Akhtar Rukhsana Memorial Trust Orchard Hospital was granted renewal for liver transplantation. Sahiwal Teaching Hospital, Independent University Hospital Faisalabad, and Madina Teaching Hospital Faisalabad were approved for cornea transplantation for the next three years. The registration of City Hospital Multan, PKLI and Research Center Lahore, National Hospital and Medical Center Lahore, and Adil Hospital Lahore was renewed for renal transplantation for another three years.The meeting also approved the budget estimate of PHOTA for the financial year 2025–26 along with the revised budget estimate for 2024–25. It was also decided to organize a five-day training workshop on Human Organ and Tissue Transplantation Essentials for PHOTA. Further approvals were granted to initiate pancreas and bone banking transplantation in Punjab, along with the formation of a committee for kidney transplantation for children.On this occasion, the health minister said that according to the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the capacity of PHOTA is being enhanced to ensure the provision of the best healthcare facilities to the public. He stressed that the government is fully committed to curbing illegal human organ transplants in the province.The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Operations Tariq Mehmood Rahmani, Additional Secretary Technical Dr. Muhammad Waseem, Professor Izhar Chaudhry from the Pakistan Medical Association, CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr. Ali Razzaq, and representatives from the Revenue and Home Departments. CEO Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr. Muhammad Saqib Aziz, PKLI Dean Professor Faisal Saud Dar, and Yasir Khan from the Transplantation Society also joined the session via video link.
