KATHMANDU: Services at the Shahid Dharmabhakta National Organ Transplant Center in Bhaktapur have been affected due to a shortage of specialists, resulting in a halt in liver transplantation.

According to the Center’s Executive Director, Dr Kalpana Shrestha, the shortage arose after the retirement of the Center’s sole liver transplant specialist, Dr Pukar Chandra Shrestha, in the month of Saun (July-August). Since then, the Center has not been able to provide liver transplant services, which had been available there since 2073 BS.

Executive Director Shrestha stated that Health and Population Minister Dr Sudha Gautam has already been informed about the issue. “We have been told that the Ministry and the Secretary are taking the matter seriously and are working to fill the gap,” she added.

Prior to this, the Center had recorded 34 liver transplants. Initially, these services were carried out with the assistance of foreign specialists, but in later years, the procedures were conducted entirely by the domestic team.

Tribhuvan University (TU) is another government-run facility in the country that provides liver transplant services.