The Lung Transplant Program—a partnership between the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) and National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI)—can be a model for other hospitals in the country to pool their resources to improve the country's healthcare system.
President Marcos said this as he led the launching of the country’s first lung transplant program on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
"The partnership between LCP and NKTI can be a template in which hospitals pool their resources and share assets to boost patient care and improve bottom lines," the President said in his speech.
"The launch of the LCP and the NKTI Lung Transplant Program is an application of the proven maxim that two heads – two hospitals – are better than one," he added.
Marcos further said that the initiative creates the infrastructure for lung transplants in the country, with the first one to be done within 2024.
He also expressed optimism that both institutions will succeed "because you are torchbearers of the tradition of bold and brave initiatives upon which medicine has advanced, and diseases have retreated."
In his remarks, the Chief Executive stressed that the "we should stop being content with the piecemeal, or belittle big dreams as too ambitious, too difficult."
The LCP-NKTI Lung Transplant Program seeks to provide competent, committed, and compassionate care to the Filipino people as it will provide access to life-saving treatments for lung transplant patients in the country.
The Lung Center of the Philippines and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute were both established through Presidential Decrees in 1981. They serve as specialized medical centers to address specific health concerns in the country.