Cuba Performs Over 5,000 Kidney Transplants In Four Decades

Cuban doctors have carried out more than 5,000 kidney transplants since February 24, 1970, with results on par with that of developed nations, an expert said.

In a 42-year period Cuban surgeons have undertaken 4,751 kidneys transplants with dead donors and 397 with living donors, all free of charge, said Alexander Marmol Sonora, leader of the International Master in Transplant Coordination program at the Public Health Ministry.

About Transplantation
Since the early times, the novel idea of transplanting tissues and other body parts from one organism to the other has captured the imagination of successive generations.

The living donors are close relatives, such as parents, brothers and sons, of the patients, the only donors Cuban health ministry accepts for that kind of transplants, reported Xinhua.

Nine health centers in the country can perform transplants with living donors, five of them in Havana, and the rest located in Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Camaguey and Villa Clara, Marmol Sonora added.

He said that the recently opened Center for Cell Engineering and Organ and Tissue Transplantation will raise the quality of the national program of organ transplants on the island.

Quiz on Kidney
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist, and are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine.

Healthy kidneys filter about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. The bladder stores urine. The kidneys, ureters, and bladder are partof the urinary tract.

Acute Renal (Kidney) Failure- Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Complications
Acute renal failure is the sudden cessation of the functioning of kidneys, that can be due to reduced renal blood flow, damage to renal tissues.

kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. Kidneys also remove acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals-such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium-in your blood ().

Without this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in the body may not work normally.

Kidneys also make hormones that help

Control your blood pressure
Make red blood cells
Keep your bones strong and healthy

The doctor added that international researches have proved that it is four times cheaper to do a kidney transplant than keeping a patient in dialysis, which would cost $20,000 a year.

He said kidney transplantation in Cuba is totally free of costs for its citizens like the rest of other health services in the country.

Source-IANS

Foods to Avoid in Kidney Failure
Cut back on salt, restrict your fluid intake and limit consumption of proteins if you suffer from kidney failure.