MUHIMBILI National Hospital (MNH) plans to start kidney transplants by using modern robotic technology in the near future to promote medical tourism.
This was revealed over the weekend by kidney specialist of the hospital, Dr Jonathani Mngumi, when talking to journalists at Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport Terminal III in Dar es Salaam.
He was speaking when arrived at the airport from India, where he and other 10 specialty doctors from MNH, Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) and Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI), went to look for opportunities for cooperation with the country’s hospitals as a move to strengthen medical tourism in the country.
The specialist doctors were accompanied by the Vice Chairman of the Medical Tourism Committee, Abdulmalik Mollel, who is also Director of the Global Education Link and Global Medicare, who represented his Chairman, Professor Mohamed Janabi, Director General of MNH.
Dr Mngumi said during their 13-day visit in India they visited various big hospitals that use high-quality expertise in the provision of various medical services.
He said although the specialist services provided by MNH are similar to those provided by Indian hospitals, there are new things they have learned that they expect to implement here in the country to attract patients from across Africa.
“We have seen how they can afford to transplant kidneys using robots, so we will make sure that all those services are available at MNH,” he said.
Dr Mngumi said MNH has modern equipment such as dialysis machines that are similar to those used in India and that they have been reducing medical costs burden to the government.
He said that the government of India has many factories that manufacture medical equipment for kidney patients, a situation which has made it possible to lower costs of the treatment.
Cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon from the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), Dr Alex Joseph, said they have experienced how the country’s specialists provide heart surgery.
“The trip has been a great success, the biggest thing that I have seen regarding heart surgery is that the majority of the services they provide are the same as ours at JKCI, but they are ahead of us in very few areas and we have talked with them about how to exchange knowledge,” he said.
He said during the visit, they have persuaded Indian cardiologists from various big hospitals to come and provide expertise to their counterparts herein Tanzania.
He said that many hospitals in India have facilities that have been attracting patients from many countries around the world to go for treatment.
