Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has said that work on the proposed Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplantation in Kozhikode will be completed in 30 months.

He was delivering a speech after opening the silver jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Heart Care Society here on Saturday (October 3). Mr. Satheesan said that ₹271 crore was being set aside for the institute coming up on a 20-acre plot in Chevayur. All the services related to organ transplantation would be brought under one roof to bring down the surgery cost to one-third. The facility would have 350 beds and 10 operation theatres. On the same premises, a dermatology hospital too had been proposed. A sum of ₹35 crore would be spent on the hospital, Mr. Satheesan said.

The institute would be elevated as a centre of excellence with a research programme attached to it. As many as 1,100 cornea transplants, 520 kidney, 50 heart, 40 lung, 120 bone marrow, 320 liver, 15 intestine, 15 pancreas, and 300 soft tissue transplant surgeries would be performed there in a year. Mr. Satheesan said that utilising the State’s climate and other advantages, Keralam would be transformed into a healthcare destination where foreigners and people from within the country could approach for treatment. Wellness centres, rehabilitation centres, and facilities providing medical treatment for stroke would be launched. An extensive campaign would soon be undertaken for prevention and early detection of diseases. K. Praveenkumar and K. Jayanth, MLAs, and K. Kunjali, president of the society, were present, among others.

The foundation stone for the proposed institute was laid by former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in February this year. However, the work on the facility was reportedly moving at a slow pace after the change of government.