Nigeria: IVF, open heart surgery our priorities -LUTH CMD

How about kidney transplantation? In 2011, we were able to carry out our first renal transplantation, an indication that we have moved beyond renal dialysis to also providing kidney transplantation.
Are people coming in for this service? There are challenges of getting suitable donors. And as a matter of policy, we do not accept or encourage commercial donors, thus slowing down our activities on kidney transplantation. We can offer renal transplantation for about five million naira, if they can bring a suitable donor.
Is every step involved in the kidney transplantation done at LUTH? Oh yes, but we still send some part of the investigation out, particularly, the HLA typing. But by the middle of the year, we would have solved the problem of HLA typing because we are setting up a DNA laboratory in the hospital with some support from the private sector.
Which other services are just coming up or that are being reinvigorated at the hospital? The FG provided us with the latest technology in cancer management, which is the linear accelerator. This equipment helps us to provide treatment. It is precise and helps us to be able to direct the rays specifically at the tumour with little or no collateral damage.
How about heart problems? Our cardiothoracic surgeons do pacemaker insertions into the heart and before the end of the year we would be able to do direct repairs on the heart. We are strengthening our cardiac surgery department. We have a cardiac programme that we are developing.
Heart repairs, are the equipment and staff on ground? We are training people on this and some of the equipment that will be required to do it are here already. But we need additional equipment and are already working on that. It is going to be a total package before the end of the year.
Of course, we have a paediatric hospital. With the help of the Federal government, a new children emergency centre is being constructed. It is going to be a unique centre on it own. It will have its own operating theatre, radio-diagnostic centre and space for admission of additional 100 babies. So the capability of our paediatric department will go to between 250 and 300 babies.
Increasing patronage of LUTH The patients are here. In 2005, when things were really down, the number of surgeries was down. But between 2005 and now, we have increased the number of major surgeries from about 1,000 to over 5,000. That is roughly, over a 100 surgeries per week. So the patients are back. Of course, there are challenges particularly  from the perspective of the patients. Patients assume that it is a government hospital and as such they should not pay. However, somebody has to pay. It is a shared responsibility and the government is already meeting part of the cost. Individuals and families should also meet their part of the cost.
Specialised care and its cost Specialised care must be more expensive. In fact, teaching hospitals are more expensive than general hospitals and primary health care centres all over the world. Their supper-qualified personnel and equipment make them more expensive than the other tiers of health care facilities. We are talking of equipment that cost hundreds of millions of Naira. There is a huge capital outlay that goes into teaching hospitals in order for it to provide these services.
Of course, many medical conditions if treated early could be managed at the primary healthcare centres, thus reducing what is spent on accessing health care.
If we desire health and if we want health services, then families and individuals must be prepared to play their own role in securing the health of the  people.
Research activities I will just give one or two examples because we have a multiplicity of studies going on at the hospital. For example, we have been looking at development of drug resistance in HIV in partnership with other centres in Africa. It has serious implications for management of HIV.
Social and corporate responsibility of the hospital Every year, we do over a hundred cataract surgeries, freely. This is announced, they come in and we do the surgery. We also do free cleft palate repairs in babies with lips or cleft palates with some assistance from the Smile Train Foundation.