HKL nephrologist Dr Mohamad Zaimi Abdul Wahab suggests kidney failure patients can do away with dialysis if organs were readily available. “It will not provide what an actual kidney can for your body, as simple as that". Malaysia has under 300 nephrologists across public/ private sectors.
Despite a surge in organ donor pledges, Malaysia’s lack of organ donations means that only 1.6 per 1,000 dialysis patients receive a kidney transplant, says a HKL nephrologist. Surviving family members can still veto a deceased’s organ donation pledge.
Mr Chew (pseudonym) – the first person living with HIV to receive a kidney transplant in Malaysia – shares how he and his wife persisted for the surgery despite rejections from multiple hospitals locally and abroad, until UMMC stepped up to the challenge.
Last year, UMMC performed Malaysia's first kidney transplant on a man in his 50s who has been living with HIV for over two decades, hailed by the medical team as a "game changer" that paves the way for life-saving surgeries for HIV-positive people.
Malaysia only does 30 to 40 yearly kidney transplants from deceased donors. HKL nephrology dept head Dr Sunita Bavanandan estimates 106,000 advanced renal disease patients in two decades.