Wednesday, May 25, 2011 -
Tajik authorities on Tuesday marked the opening of the National Scientific Center for Transportation of Human Organs and Tissues, the only center of its kind in the Central Asian region.
The Tajik government in the summer of 2010 legally established the center, which cost $600,000 to build, the Tajik news agency AsiaPlus.tj reported on Wednesday.
The funds also went to the purchase furniture, medicine and necessary equipment.
Tajik Health Minister Nusratullo Salimov was on hand for the opening ceremony in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.
He praised the center for its work in kidney transplants, which would be too costly to seek abroad for many Tajik citizens who need to undergo the procedure.
“Only 20 percent (of patients needing a kidney transplant in Tajikistan) have an opportunity to undergo the kidney transplant procedure outside the country, spending for this $25,000 to $60,000,” Salimov said.
Tajik kidney specialists have performed 10 kidney transplants overall, the center’s head for surgical research said.
The center is scheduled to undertake a liver transplant operation and a bone marrow transplant in the next year, marking a first for the medical facility.