Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) is planning to establish a DNA library to store samples for future use.
This announcement was made by PSH director and CEO, Parvish Kumar, in Nadi yesterday at the fifth MultiDisciplinary (Pacific) Conference held at the Crowne Plaza Fiji, Nadi Bay Resort & Spa.
“We are also planning to set up a DNA library. What we are trying to do is when babies are born, we ask the parents for consent to take samples of their umbilical cords and store them in our lab,” said Mr. Kumar.
“In the future, if parents or anyone needs samples of the child’s DNA, it will be available in Fiji,” he added.
He also mentioned that open-heart surgical procedures would begin in the next two to three weeks.
“Currently, our entire open heart surgical team is already in Fiji. They have been conducting revital exercises and testing all the systems. We are planning to start open heart surgeries around August 2-13.”
Once these services are available in Fiji, Pacific islanders won’t need to seek them elsewhere.
“If there is another pandemic and border lockdowns, our patients can access such services in Fiji,” he said.
Pacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) is located in Legalega, opposite the Nadi International Airport. It is the largest private hospital in the South Pacific.