GIMS emerges as lifeline for organ transplant patients

Gambat: Located in Gambat town of Khairpur district, the Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) has become a major centre for free, advanced medical treatment, offering hope to thousands of patients suffering from organ failure.

Also known as the Pir Syed Qadir Shah Jilani Institute of Medical Sciences, the facility has grown into a more than 1,000-bed hospital providing specialised care to patients from across Pakistan and neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan.

The institute is led by its director, Dr Rahim Bux Bhatti, who began his journey in 1988 with a small dispensary. Over the decades, the project expanded with support from the Sindh government and the Pakistan Peoples Party, eventually evolving into a modern medical complex.

GIMS provides free liver and kidney transplants—procedures that can cost millions of rupees in private hospitals. According to hospital officials, the institute has performed more than 1,100 organ transplants with a success rate exceeding 90 per cent.

Beyond transplant services, the hospital offers a wide range of treatments, including dialysis, angiography, angioplasty, open-heart surgery, trauma and burns care, intensive care units, maternity and child health services, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. It also houses advanced diagnostic facilities such as MRI, CT scan, digital X-ray, ultrasound and specialised laboratories, along with blood bank and emergency ambulance services.

The institute has also expanded into medical education and research, establishing departments such as hepatobiliary surgery, a cancer hospital, a nursing school and postgraduate training programmes.

Dr Bhatti says his mission remains simple: to ensure that quality healthcare is accessible to those who cannot afford expensive treatment elsewhere.