Sindh:November 06:The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) is the largest centre for kidney transplants in Asia where 600 patients avail the facility of free dialysis every day.

“As many as 0.55 million patients were provided healthcare facilities free of cost at SIUT during the current year, which costs around Rs950 million,” said Prof Dr Anwar Naqvi at the certificate distribution ceremony of the volunteer programme, 25th batch, concluded on Saturday at SIUT.

Dr Naqvi maintained that SIUT has introduced the concept of volunteering through involvement of students in the volunteer programme. In this programme, students from different schools are invited to participate where they are provided opportunity to serve patients and get the experience of social service.

“This is a source of inspiration for other students as well. SIUT is making efforts under the leadership of Prof Dr Adeeb Rizvi to spread the concept of constructive social work by providing health services” he added.

He said that the volunteer programme of SIUT was an inspiration for students to come forward and pursue it in their daily lives, bringing a change in the overall society.

Prof Dr Naqvi said that the students worked with the other staff members of the SIUT and provided non-medical nursing services to the patients.

They were even provided with first aid training and were also given information about SIUT OPDs, radiology, laboratory, dialysis unit, lithotripsy, transplantation and other medical facilities, he said.

Chairperson of the Resource Generation and Outreach Dept, Kishwer Zehra praised the enthusiasm showed by the young volunteers during their training.

She said that 120 students completed 30 hours training at SIUT in which they assisted parents and nurses and helped other patients in different wards.

Zehra said that about 2, 500 students had participated in this programme as yet since its inception. She hoped the volunteers who were participating in the programme would follow the code of service throughout their life that they gained here. She said that the concept of public service would be flourished in the society through these volunteers as Prof Adeeb Rizvi dreamt.

Students speaking on this occasion said that this programme had helped them to understand the value of life, she said adding that these programmes also had a positive impact on the learning process of students.The news.