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Mulago National Referral Hospital has discharged a patient who recently underwent a successful kidney transplant.

Mulago's acting executive director, Dr Rosemary Byanyima, says the Kidney donor was also discharged this week.

Speaking to New Vision Online via the telephone today, January 5, 2023, Byanyima said both the donor and the recipient are doing well.

A kidney transplant is a surgery to place a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly.

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on each side of the spine just below the rib cage. Each is about the size of a fist. Their main function is to filter and remove waste, minerals and fluid from the blood by producing urine.

The new development follows remarks by health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng last year that on December 20, 2023, the hospital had successfully conducted its first kidney transplant on a patient who had been on dialysis for two years.

‘’Patients were taken through pre-transplant counselling and the consent process of the recipient, donor and next of kin.

Currently, Mulago Hospital administers approximately 1,082 dialysis sessions on patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease, commonly referred to as Kidney failure each year.

Kirruddu Hospital manages a comparable number. Additionally, patients in other regions, such as Mbarara and Lira regional referral hospitals, are getting dialysis services.

Kidney failure is a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter waste products from the blood, while dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly.