A team of doctors from Santo António Hospital will perform the first kidney transplant in Cape Verde. The surgery, a pioneer in the country, takes place thanks to an agreement between the two governments.
Until now, Cape Verdeans with kidney failure had to resort to lifelong hemodialysis or move to another country to be able to carry out this type of intervention.
If everything goes as planned, March 24th will go down in Cape Verde’s history as the date of the first kidney transplant in the country. A 44-year-old man will be the first patient to receive a kidney, donated by his sister, who is a few years older.
“It was a challenge, including carrying out the transplant in the surgical center. There were not the conditions required for a patient who is going to be immunosuppressed. An equipped surgical center was built from scratch”, explained the director of the kidney transplant unit at ULS Santo Antônio, La Dirte Martins.
It took more than ten years to make this moment possible. In a first phase, conditions were created for dozens of patients with kidney failure to undergo hemodialysis in Cape Verde. The project was led by Portuguese surgeon António Norton de Matos, who goes to the country several times a year to prepare the vascular access necessary for the treatment.
“They also didn’t have dialysis 15 years ago. Now they do. Before, they were forced to emigrate, because they wouldn’t survive there,” said the doctor.
With a career marked by the first transplant carried out 43 years ago in Porto, Norton de Matos, now retired, leads the team that travels to Cape Verde to carry out this historic milestone.
“I wanted to end my career with this. I’m retired, but I’m still operating. The only difficulty is the bureaucracy and the structural functioning, which is complex,” he said.
On the ground, the difficulties are evident.
“No matter how much I try to explain, no one is aware of the reality that happens there. Doctor Norton sometimes operates on his knees, because the benches in the operating room don’t go up or down”, reported the volunteer and mission manager Luisa Cudell.
For the sick, the possibility of transplantation represents a profound change.
“Just stopping dialysis would be good. I live in Ribeira de Calhau, I come three times a week, I have to get up before five in the morning”, said one patient.
The first surgery will take place in the capital, Praia, on the island of Santiago. The Portuguese team will consist of four surgeons, a nurse, a nephrologist and a volunteer.
“Walking with Dr Norton on the street is like walking with a movie star, he is always being questioned and thanked”, added Luísa Cudell.
The objective also involves training local teams.
“The idea is to start transplanting there. Nephrology colleagues are already beginning to have the knowledge to monitor these patients”, explained La Salete Martins.
The Porto team plans to travel to Cape Verde whenever transplants are scheduled. It is planned to perform around 20 surgeries per yearallowing to improve the quality of life of dozens of Cape Verdeans.
