Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) is planning to establish a DNA library to store samples for future use.
This was announced by PSH director and chief executive officer, Parvish Kumar, yesterday in Nadi at the fifth MultiDisciplinary (Pacific) Conference at the Crowne Plaza Fiji, Nadi Bay Resort & Spa.
“We are planning to set up a DNA library. When babies are born, we will ask the consent of the parents to take samples from their umbilical cords for storage in the lab,” Mr. Kumar explained.
“In the future, if parents or anyone else needs samples of the child’s DNA, it will be available in Fiji,” he added.
Mr. Kumar also mentioned that in the next two to three weeks, they will commence open-heart surgical procedures.
“Currently, our entire open-heart surgical team is already in Fiji. They have been conducting revitalization exercises and testing all the systems. We plan to perform open-heart surgeries around August 2-13.”
With these services available in Fiji, Pacific islanders will no longer need to seek medical services elsewhere.
“In the event of another pandemic and border lockdowns, our patients will still have access to such medical services in Fiji,” he said.
Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) is located in Legalega, opposite the Nadi International Airport, and is the largest private hospital in the South Pacific.