Global Hospitals To Set Up Organ Transplant Hospital In Kolkata

Joy Roy Choudhury - Kolkata

Kolkata’s emerging status as the region’s healthcare hub will get another shot in the arm with the commissioning of the city’s first organ transplant hospital at New Town, Rajarhat within the next two years. Work on the construction of the first phase of Global Hospitals project will start by the middle of the current year.

Dr K Ravindranath

Dr K Ravindranath, Managing Director, Global Hospitals said, “The organ transplant hospital will come up on the three acres of land given to us by the State Government at a cost of Rs 150 crore.” Funds for the project will mostly come through internal accruals. The Group had earlier sought 20 acres of land to set up a seven-tower 750-bed hospital, a stem-cell research centre and training institute for organ transplant. But due to paucity of land the initial plans to set up the research centre and training institute was shelved. The number of beds, too, has been scaled down from 750 to 350. Free beds will be earmarked for the socially-weaker sections and poor patients. “We will approach Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the State Chief Minister for more land and the expansion plan will depend on the Government’s decision,” he said. The Chief Minister later assured the noted surgical gastroenterologist that he would look into the matter. According to the original plan, the hospital was to have dedicated units for gastroenterology (with liver transplant facilities), cardio-thoracic ailments (with heart transplant facilities), nephrology and urology, haematology, ophthalmology (with retinal transplant facilities) and stem cell harvest and research. An organ transplant training institute, hotel, malls, guest house along with staff quarters were also included in the original plan. “We have spoken to many non-resident Indians, who are experts in transplant techniques. They are all eager to come to Kolkata and work full-time in the hospital,” Dr Ravindranath said.

Senior Global Hospitals’ consultants in different specialities will visit the Kolkata centre regularly and make available their services on the spot. Dr Ravindranath, had been planning to set up a full-fledged facility in the city since it regularly draws a large number of patients from Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Assam and other North Eastern states.