Mulago National Referral Hospital has performed 19 successful kidney transplants since launching its kidney transplant programme in December 2023, marking a major milestone in Uganda’s efforts to expand access to specialised kidney care.
The milestone was announced as the hospital concluded its sixth kidney transplant camp, during which four Ugandan patients received kidney transplants.
Mulago said the latest camp also marked an important step towards locally delivered transplant services, with the final procedure successfully performed independently by the hospital’s own medical team.
“A key milestone was the final transplant of the camp, successfully performed independently by the Mulago team—a significant step in building local capacity,” the hospital said.
The hospital said the kidney transplant programme had been paused for seven months before the latest camp, which began on September 7.
Mulago said another four transplants are scheduled for November as it continues to build capacity to make kidney transplantation a routine service at the national referral hospital.
The hospital credited the Yashoda and Kidney Care For All teams for their continued technical support and guidance since the programme began.
“We thank Yashoda & Kidney Care For All teams for their continued technical guidance and support,” Mulago said.
However, the hospital said increased Government investment is needed to enable it to independently perform more procedures and reduce the waiting time for patients seeking specialised care.
Mulago Executive Director Dr Rosemary Byanyima called for increased Government support in key areas, including human resource capacity, a dedicated transplant intensive care unit and laboratory immunology services.
The hospital said its long-term goal is to establish kidney transplantation as a regular service, with an ambition of eventually performing one transplant every week.
“The next camp is scheduled for November, as Mulago works towards making kidney transplantation a regular, independently delivered service,” the hospital said.
