Biomedical engineering college to be established at GIMS

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday announced establishing a biomedical engineering college, and introducing cell and gene therapy at the Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS).

“I want to speed up the measures to establish Gambat, a big town in the Khairpur district, as the first-ever medical city in the province by establishing all the health facilities along both banks of the Rohri Canal,” Shah said in a meeting he chaired at the CM House.

He said he had announced declaring Gambat as health city in his budget speech, and now the time had come to fulfil the commitment made with the people of the province by providing them all the health facilities at Gambat.

He pointed out that a liver transplantation unit has already been operating successfully at GIMS, where more than 700 transplant procedures have been carried out so far. The CM said that Foreign Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari recently inaugurated a lung transplant unit at Gambat, while their burns unit had also been operating successfully, which was why patients from all over Pakistan were going there.

Giving a comprehensive presentation to the chief executive, Dr Shahzad Sarwar of GIMS said that cell and gene therapy is emerging as a rapid development for health care. “Cell and gene therapy involves the use of cells and genes to treat diseases. Gene therapy modifies a person’s genes to treat or cure diseases. Similarly, cell therapy uses cells from either the patient or a donor to treat diseases,” explained Dr Sarwar.

“Cell therapy is the transplantation of human cells to replace or repair damaged tissue and/or cells,” he said, adding that some of the cells that may be used include various types of stem cells, lymphocytes, dendritic cells and pancreatic islet cells.

He also said human gene therapy aims to modify or manipulate the expression of a gene or to alter the pathological process to treat a disease.

It can work by editing the disease-causing gene or replacing it with a healthy one, silencing or inactivating a disease-causing gene that is not functioning properly, and adding or introducing a new or modified gene into the body to help treat a disease, he added.

CM Shah directed NED University Vice Chancellor Prof Sarosh Lodhi to establish a biomedical engineering college at Gambat. “I suggest that both of you, the NED VC and the GIMS director, sit together to a prepare a plan to establish a biomedical college.”

Shah also approved a proposal presented by GIMS Director Dr Bhatti to introduce cell and gene therapy at the institute. The land along both embankments of the Rohri Canal would be used to establish different health facilities for long-term and primary health care, turning the city into a hub of medical tourism.

The CM directed the works secretary to prepare a feasibility report to construct a flyover from the National Highway to the Gambat Health City, and a plan to connect the Rohri Canal embankments through a bridge. He also directed Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput to hire a consultant for establishing Gambat as a health city.

The meeting was also attended by Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, Universities & Boards Minister Ismail Rahu, Health Parliamentary Secretary Qasim Soomro, Planning & Development Chairman Hassan Naqvi, Principal Secretary to CM Fayaz Jatoi, Colleges Secretary Ahmad Bux Narejo, Schools Secretary Akbar Leghari, Health Secretary Zulfiqar Shah and others.