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Friday Sermon: Heart Transplant: A Testimony

Published

4 years ago

April 9, 2021

Eric

By Babatunde Jose

Organ transplantation is certainly one of the “miracles” of modern medicine and one of the most challenging scientific steps of the modern era. The ability to replace, functionally or anatomically, the failing heart has been a revolutionary medical feat and in December 2020 the world marked the 53rd anniversary of the world’s first human heart transplant: And on Sunday 28 March, 2021 our brother Ahmad Olayinka Jose had a successful heart transplant; becoming one of the less than 3500 would be recipients in the year.

Throughout most of history, the heart has been regarded as the seat of human emotion and, consequently, considered to be sacred. Now, human anatomy is much better understood and even though we know that the heart is not the center of emotions, it is however affected by them, alongside stress and many other factors. Nevertheless, the heart is an organ like any other and when some organs, including the heart, fail beyond medical treatment, there is an option to surgically replace them with healthy organs from donors. Hence, transplantation.

Many brilliant and ingenious doctors and surgeons have added their names to the annals of heart transplant history. Doctors such as Dwight Harken (an innovator in heart surgery who introduced the concept of the intensive care unit), Norman Shumway (a pioneer of heart surgery at Stanford University and the first to perform an adult human to human heart transplantation in the United States, 1968), and Christiaan Barnard (a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant operation) all dedicated their lives to understanding this incredible organ. Their contribution to the knowledge and practice of heart surgery has changed the outcome for many people with end-stage heart failure. American medical researcher Simon Flexner was one of the first people to mention the possibility of heart transplantation. In 1907, he wrote the paper “Tendencies in Pathology,” in which he said that it would be possible one day by surgery to replace diseased human organs.

The history of heart surgery spans more than a hundred years and has seen many challenges and triumphs, including the treatment of various congenital heart defects, the development of the heart-lung machine, animal, and artificial heart transplantation, and finally, human heart transplantation.

On December 3, 1967, 53-year-old Louis Washkansky received the first human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The Surgeon, Christiaan Barnard, who trained at the University of Cape Town and in the United States, performed the revolutionary medical operation based on the technique initially developed by a group of American researchers in the 1950s.

The development of immunosuppressant drugs, which help prevent the body’s rejection of transplanted organs, added impetus to the ultimate success of these surgical procedures. Today, the only factor that limits the number of people whose lives are saved by cardiac transplants is the availability of healthy heart donors.

After the first South African transplants in 1967 other transplants were performed around the world however, by June 1970, only 10 survivors could be counted among 160 transplant recipients. But that has changed considerably, though supply of organs remains the most persistent problem in the field of organ transplantation.

Heart transplants are done in people of all ages, even children. A routine heart transplant surgery can be performed in less than four hours, while some complex ones may take seven, eight, nine hours—or more, especially if there is need to remove a heart pump or clean up scar tissue from previous surgeries. Regardless, the basic procedure remains the same. The patient is given general anesthesia and connected to a bypass machine that takes over the heart’s function. Surgeons make an incision in the chest, divide the breastbone, and remove the diseased heart. They sew the donor heart into place and connect it to the remnants of the old heart and the major blood vessels.

But given today’s shortage of available organs, the sickest patients are prioritized for transplants, so, many patients waiting for a heart to become available are already in the hospital on various types of medicine or heart pumps.

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a private, non-profit organization under contract with the government to manage the organ transplant system in the U.S., allocates newly available hearts based on such priorities as medical urgency. Patients who are hospitalized or dependent on mechanical assist devices to help their heart function are at the top of the list.

About 3,500 people in the U.S. are waiting for a heart, and many will wait more than six months. But some will die before a heart becomes available to them.

Heart transplants would not be possible if it were not for the drugs that prevent people’s bodies from rejecting the transplanted organ. These drugs have vastly improved in the last 15 to 20 years. The drugs can however have adverse effects, including high blood pressure, as well as blood sugar and kidney problems: So, there is a trade-off. One notable advance is that doctors can now tailor an immunosuppression strategy for each patient.

One reason patient can now live longer after transplantation is close monitoring and follow-up, especially in the months after their surgery. This is most intense in the first six months after a transplant, when doctors see patients frequently.

Since the performance of the first human heart transplant in 1967, heart transplantation has changed from an experimental operation to an established treatment for advanced heart disease. Worldwide, about 3,500 heart transplants are performed annually. The vast majority of these are performed in the United States (2,000–2,300 annually).

Now the testimony: We give all thanks to Almighty God for putting a smile on our face today as we make a declaration of the successful heart transplant on our brother Ahmad Olayinka Jose. He was wheeled to the theatre on Sunday 28^th March shortly after a matching heart was found. The operation started immediately after he had been fully prepared and placed under anesthesia and intubated. The operation which lasted four hours ended in the early hours of Monday 29^th and he was transferred to the ICU. He was gradually extubated from Wednesday 31^stand on Thursday April 1^st he was fully extubated and started breathing on his own; Allah be praised! On Good Friday, April 2^nd, he regained full speech and was able to make phone calls to his loved ones. He also started walking unaided. And behold last Tuesday, April 6, 2021, accompanied by a retinue of medical staff, Yinka went home; a new man albeit with a lot of dos and don’ts and immunosuppressant drugs which he would use for the rest of his life. May Allah make that life a long one. Yinka has lived with a problematic heart for 25 years and ten years ago, after he was given a pacemaker, the doctor warned that he might eventually need a transplant. This is Yinka’s story, a story for another day.

We thank the surgical team and support staff of Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA for a wonderful job. Most importantly, we thank Almighty God for His mercy. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

“Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and defend us from the torment of the Fire!”(Quran 2:201)

As we start Ramadan 2021 next week, may Allah make it easy for us and accept our fast as acts of worship.

Barka Juma’at and happy weekend

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Madam Beatrice Abiodun Awomosu Thanks God at 80

Published

2 months ago

January 17, 2025

Eric

By Ruth Udeme

Joy indescribable, was written all over the face of Madam Beatrice Awomosu, when close family members and friends gathered in Ibadan, Oyo state to celebrate her entry into the octogenarian club.

The elegant matriarch, who is the mother of the stylish CEO of Jummhy Exclusive Fabrics, Mrs Jumoke Oyeneyin, marked her special 80th birthday in the house of the Lord, a recognition of His grace and divine mercies in her life over the years.

The thanksgiving service, which was held at Christ The Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Ibadan was a glorious outpouring of hymns, songs, praises and prayers all the way.

The officiating minister, who delivered the sermon, described the celebrator as an unwearied leader in the vineyard of the Lord, praying that God will shower her with excellent health and keep her alive to continue enjoying her children and grand children.

In her remarks, during the ceremony, her elated daughter, Mrs Jumoke Oyeneyin, who was filled with happiness that her mother was healthy and strong at 80, also noted that the hand of God was indeed upon the family.

The lively service was soon concluded after which guests moved to the Sunlight Royal Event Center, in the heart of Ibadan, for a classy one-in-town reception.

The venue had been creatively transformed by the inimitable Finesse Events who planned the event. Guests were pampered like royals, Choice drinks and gourmet dishes of various kinds flowed freely.

The ceremony was compered by Gbenga Adeyinka 1st, and had excellent music contents from great performers such as Beejay Sax, King Sunny Ade and Aristos Band.

Phots: Ken Ehimen

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Senate Approves Tinubu’s ₦1.77trn Loan Request

Published

4 months ago

November 21, 2024

Eric

The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.

The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.

The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.

Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.

The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.

The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.

According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.

The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.

Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.

March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.

The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.

July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.

Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.

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DIAMED CENTRE: Kesington Adebutu is a Father in a million – Daughter, Abiola Olorede

Published

8 months ago

July 20, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

A United States and United Kingdom trained prolific doctor, Dr. Abiola Olorede, the first daughter of accomplished businessman and renowned philanthropist, Sir Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu, is not a run-off-the-mill medical practitioner. She knows her onions, her worth and the mandate she is programmed to fulfill.

She is the Chief Medical Director of the just opened DIAMED CENTRE, a fully equipped diagnostic and medical facility saved with the responsibility of catering to the medical needs of the Nigerian public.

The hospital, which was built and handed over to her by her philanthropic father, is located at Kuboye Street, in the heart of Lekki Island, Lagos.

In this brief chat, the achiever, who lived most of her educational life in Dublin, Poland, expressed her gratitude to a father like no other, and how she and her team intends to make the best of the facility and equipment to totally affect humanity for the better.

Excerpts:

CAN YOU TELL US THE IDEA BEHIND THIS GREAT PROJECT?

Thank you very much, my name is Abiola Olorede, I am a medical doctor by profession. I schooled in Dublin, worked in the United Kingdom and in United States of America. When I came back home to Nigeria after my education including postgraduate studies, I realized that one of the major challenges is that a lot of the diagnostic tools that we need to use for evident-base treatment of our patient were lacking. Since then, I have always had a dream that when i am able to afford it, I will like to have a place that Nigerians can go to as comparable as those round the world because, just as I have always spoken about it, every Nigerian should have any treatment obtainable anywhere in the world in their home country.

CAN I DEDUCE THEREFORE, THAT YOU INTEND TO STOP MEDICAL TOURISM BY ESTABLISHING THIS ALL INCLUSIVE MEDICAL CENTRE?

Hmmm…Intend to stop is a very big word. I am hoping by the service we would offer here, a lot of Nigerians will see it as comparable to anywhere in the world and would want to use it instead of going out of the country. So, a lot of people that go out of the country can benefit from world class treatment in Nigeria.

SO OUT OF ALL YOUR DAD’S PHILANTHROPIC GESTURES, HOW DOES THIS ONE MAKE YOU FEEL?

If you noticed, the Kensington Adebutu Foundation, KAF, as it is fondly referred to, has major pillars and that’s education and health. It does a lot of other projects no doubt. I know that in any society, if the people are not educated, it’s a big loss to the country, if you don’t have the healthy workers too, it’s a big loss. So this brings out much of my pride in the service of Nigeria.

AS A PROUD DAUGHTER, WHAT MORE COULD YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR FATHER?

First of all, I would like to thank him. I tell everybody that he is father in a million. He supported his children over the years, financially, and with wisdom. I’m going up to 60, and my father still supports me pursue my dreams; it’s very rare. I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. He’s always there, so thank you dad, you are a wonderful dad.

CAN YOU JUST ANALYZE THE KIND OF EQUIPMENT WE HAVE HERE?

We have a lot of facilities that are available, we have 3D monogram, it gives better images, and it’s less painful when you do that. We also have 64 high CT scan, digital X-rays, a lab, Haematology, Dialysis department, Dental suite, Opthalmology and Physiotherapy. We have a fully functional Pharmacy; so it’s like a one stop shop.

We have a Cardiac Suite where you can do ECO and other tests. We engage patients morning to night, make them comfortable as they get their test done. We don’t want you to feel you are in a hospital premises; you come from home and get all your test done.

WHAT DO YOU PROMISE NIGERIANS USING THIS FACILITY?

I promise Nigerians is that only experts, who will give the right diagnosis will be engaged here so we can give world class treatment and service. We want to use evidence and innovations to manage patients. Those are our promises to Nigerians and others as an organization and God will help us deliver all these promises.

AND HOW AFFORDABLE IS IT TO PATRONISE THIS PLACE?

We would try to make it cost effective in as much as medical care is not cheap. I tell people that being healthy is cheaper that being sick and that’s true, and that’s what we hope to accomplish. It is difficult to maintain some of this machines, some of them are very expensive so we must be able to recoop cost to get and replace equipment when due.

Thank you doctor Abiola, you have been very helpful and I wish you well in the management of this facility to the best interest of Nigerians. God bless you ma.

The pleasure is mine