In the last 6 years, Eric Seddy Kutortse, the Executive Chairman of the First Sky Group, has committed a substantial amount of over GH¢ 30 million to supporting a quarter of all persons in Ghana who are on dialysis due to kidney failures.
The continuous support for such persons, as he said while speaking with journalists in Accra, has become necessary because he felt the need to offset some of the financial strains of these people.
Eric Kutortse also explained that unlike other people who support such things because of personal experiences, or owing to some peculiar relationships they have with similar medical cases, his was purely borne out of the need to support humanity.
Speaking to journalists during an event at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, where the country’s first wholly-Ghanaian medical team successfully conducted kidney transplants, he stated that his motivation stems from the Bible.
“The main motivation about all this in our Holy Book. The Bible says that we should have compassion on our fellow beings. And then more so, we have been privileged in the positions that we are able to create wealth and we believe this world is not meant for us alone.
“It has to go to support the kingdom work, it has to go in to support humanity, and that is the reason we believe God has blessed us with these resources, and that is what we are doing,” he stated.
The First Sky Group Executive Chairman also said that he was happy about the success of the medical field in Ghana because over the years, while he has continued to support these ailing patients, it is getting more and more expensive.
He also disclosed how he has personally sponsored the medical expenses of a few people to India, where they are charged hundreds of US dollars.
“This is a dream come true. This is what I’ve been dreaming about and it’s a landmark for humanity, it’s a landmark for Ghanaians because that is the only way we can have the exit plan for the dialysis.
“For the past 6 years, First Sky has been supporting the dialysis with over GH¢30 million and this is continuing every day. And the cost is increasing. Every patient goes for sessions three times a week, and as we speak now, the cost of each session is about GH¢400. You could imagine someone dialysis for almost 10 years or 15 years and the total cost spent on these medical services.
“That is why we’ve decided that the solution to this will be the kidney transplant but unfortunately, this could not be done in Ghana for some years ago, and all this is being done in India at a total cost of around $100-200,000. I personally sponsored about 4 of such patients to India and I believe that it is not worth it for us to be investing in other country’s economy,” he added.
The breakthrough by the Ghanaian doctors gives hope for the future of persons suffering from kidney failures, as Prof. j. E. Mensah, the Head of the KBTH Department of Surgery, said that soon, people woulf not need to travel outside for such medical procedures.
Also speaking at the event, he stressed that the patients on both sides (donors and recipients) are all doing well, and that is a good sign.
“Those who donated their kidneys have gone home. They are healthy. Those who received the new kidneys will be going home on Monday and they’ve not had any dialysis since the transplantation so, the kidneys are functioning well.
“… very soon, no patient should go to India, South Africa, Singapore for kidney transplant,” he explained.
