T he National Kidney and Transplant Institute is a tertiary medical specialty center formerly known as the National Kidney Foundation of the Philippines (NKFP) created on January 16, 1981 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1832 signed by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos. It was created with a three-fold mission of Service, Training and Research primarily for the benefit of the Filipino people afflicted with kidney and allied diseases and in pursuance of the policy of the State to secure the well-being of the people by providing them with the specialized health and medical services.

The Institute is situated in a 58,899 square meter parcel of land located along East Avenue, Quezon City, near the Quezon City Hall and is accessible to all types of land transportation. NKTI is a three-story edifice which can accommodate 250 patient beds. Presently, the Institute has an actual bed capacity of 247 patient beds.

There are other government hospitals in the neighborhood namely the Lung Center of the Philippines, East Avenue Medical Center, the Philippine Heart Center, the Philippine Children Medical Center and East Avenue Medical Center. Each hospital has its own field of specialization and NKTI is presently the only government hospital specialized in renal diseases and organ transplantation. It is the center for referral of kidney patients from various regional hospitals nationwide and is recognized as the lead agency in voluntary blood services.

HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTE

The National Kidney and Transplant Institute’s forerunner was the National Kidney Foundation of the Philippines (NKFP) which was formally crated in January 16, 1981 by virtue of Section I of Presidential Decree 1832. It became operational at the Wing A3 and A4 of the Lung Center of the Philippines.

The cornerstone of the NKFP building in Quezon City was laid by NKFP Chairman, then First Lady Madame Imelda Romualdez Marcos, assisted by the members of the Board of Trustees and world renowned Transplant Surgeons, Anesthesiologists, Nephrologists and Immunologists on February 23, 1983.

On this same date, the first kidney transplant at NKFP was performed by Dr. G. Baird Helfirch of Georgetown University in Washington D.C., USA, Dr. Edgar Milford of Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Dr. Barry D. Kahan of the University of Texas Medical School and Organ Transplantation Center.

NKFP was constructed in a unique hospital configuration geared for transplant operations. The Operating room air conditioning system has laminar flow with a high efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter. The laboratory equipment was state-of-the-art with capabilities seen only in the most advanced clinical laboratories in the world.

Soon, under the directorship of Dr. Claver P. Ramos, NKFP embarked on an ambitious kidney transplant project which was made available to all patients from all over the country regardless of social status.

Cyclosporine A, a revolutionary anti-rejection drug was immediately made available through Sandoz Philippines (now Novartis Healthcare). This drug was not yet in the U.S. market at that time and the Philippines was among the first countries in the world to approve its use for transplantation. The hospital churned out transplant research works one after the other that saw publications in the most prestigious transplant journals and presentations in the world transplant congresses.

The first living related kidney transplant was performed at the NKFP operating room on August 5, 1983.

The need for cadaver organs for transplantation was immediately recognized and a directive to start an organ retrieval program was issued. Through the initiatives of then NKFP Director Dr. Claver P. Ramos, Assistant Director Dr. Potenciano Baccay and Transplant Surgeon Dr. Enrique T. Ona, cadaver organ harvest and cadaver kidney transplant had a headstart on December 5 & 6, 1983 respectively. Dr. Antonio R. Paraiso, a Nephrologist was given the task of heading the cadaver program called Cadaver Organ Retrieval Effort (CORE) which was renamed as Human Organ Preservation Effort (HOPE) in 1990. These Transplant Coordinators braved weather and circumstance to promote the program and achieve its goal of providing transplantable organs to end-stage renal disease patients who do not have living related donors.

A change in the leadership of government meant a change in the management of the Institute. The Cory Aquino administration and part of Fidel Ramos term as President saw Dr. Filoteo A. Alano as its Director until he resigned in 1998.

The Institute has since then underwent a series of changes with the energized leadership of the present Executive Director, Dr. Enrique T. Ona, one of the pioneers of transplantation in the Philippines

The bed-capacity of the hospital before Units 5, 6 and 7 were affected by the May 1998 Lung Center burning was 231. An LCP-NKTI connecting passage turned office that H.O.P.E. occupied was totally razed down during the fire. Unit 7, which had the bulk of the charity beds, and part of the Radiology Department were also heavily damaged.

New units with 73 private rooms at the third floor and Out-Patient Services were built to accommodate the ever increasing number of Filipinos suffering from kidney diseases and other ailments. Units at the second floor are being spruced up in conformity with the total face lift that the Institute is undergoing. The NKTI has expanded into a 247 bed-capacity hospital that provides the best facilities for quality tertiary medical services.

The end-section of the 39-bed ward which the PAGCOR constructed for service patients (Unit 2-D) was renovated to give room to the 5-bed Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU).

The Center for Special Services, composed of the Urology Unit, Endoscopy Unit, Chemotherapy/Transfusion/Pain Management Unit and Peritoneal Dialysis Ambulatory Unit has replaced what used to be Unit 7 at the second floor of the annex building.

The new Emergency room complex was specially redesigned to suit its purpose with its 7 bed observation and 9 bed treatment rooms. The Pharmacy and Housekeeping sections were also constructed to pave way for better and faster services.

Annex II, a three-storey building which is separate from the main building, was also constructed. New Doctor’s clinics were built to accommodate more out-patient consultations. The Institute has also expanded and modernized its Dialysis Center. With 31 state-of-the-art hemodialysis machines, the center is capable of doing 2,400 dialysis procedures per month. It is also capable of doing any type of dialysis treatment, custom-fit to the varied clinical conditions that may be encountered in clinical practice.

NKTI is a leader in providing continuing education for young doctors through Internship/Residency/Fellowship programs in the different fields of Medicine. This program is in partnership with the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP), and East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC).

To continually develop and upgrade the level of skills of the nurses and other paramedical staff, the Institute developed and established the Institute of Advanced Nursing and Allied Health Professions. It is envisioned to provide and equip our nursing and paramedical staff the necessary training, exposure and skills based on globally accepted standards.

As it was in the earlier days of the NKFP, today, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute is still an institution that every Filipino must be proud of. As the first government hospital to be ISO-9001:2000 certified, it provides top quality care, at par with any treatment found anywhere in the world. Its equipment, manpower and services are of the highest standard. It boasts of the most modern diagnostic techniques in kidney and other related diseases, all modes of dialysis, and surgical procedures, most notably, organ transplantation.

-*These days, kidney transplantation is a regular activity of the hospital. NKTI holds the record of the most number of kidney transplants performed in the country since 1983. Other organ transplants have also been done at the Institute, namely, liver, pancreas, bone marrow and islet cell. Double transplants like liver and kidney, pancreas and kidney are transplant operations which were performed at NKTI long before any other transplant centers in Asia would do it.

HISTORICAL MILESTONE