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How I underwent Kidney transplant in Nigeria – DJ Jimmy Jatt

DJ Jimmy Jatt, on Saturday, opened up about undergoing a kidney transplant in a Nigerian hospital.

The veteran DJ, currently based in the U.S., is the second Nigerian celebrity to go public with a kidney related illness in recent times.

Famous Nigerian rapper and rights activist Eedris Abdulkareem, who recently underwent a successful kidney transplant, in August was the first Nigerian celebrity to speak up about a similar condition this year.

Jimmy Jatt spoke about his medical condition in a documentary shot at the Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre Abuja and posted on his verified Instagram handle.

The short documentary showed his medical journey from his consultations, surgery and post-transplant months.

The voice-over of the narrator, Doctor Thelma, revealed that she met with Jimmy Jatt in Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre Lagos branch.

There, the 54-year-old celebrity told her about his diagnosis and that he had started dialysis.

She revealed that her conversation convinced him to undergo his kidney transplant in Nigeria.

“I had a conversation with him; I just wanted to give him more options and explain how thorough we are regarding the physiologic evaluation of the donor and the recipients.

With the legal, medical and surgical clearance of the donor and the recipients, he decided that he would do his transplant with us”, she said.

Post-Transplant Testimony

The documentary showed the DJ on his Surgery Day and Post-Surgery periods.

Showing a 10-day Post-transplant period, Jimmy Jatt revealed that he was impressed with his transplant process.

Speaking on his plans for the future, he thanked God for making it possible to be alive and revealed that he wants to be a kidney disease survivor ambassador

He said, “I want to be a face of the survival of kidney disease; I did not want to be a victim. I have been through it, and from now on, I would be very open to talking to people about it on any platform to let them know what it is like”.

In his two-month post-transplant period, he revealed he was lucky to have discovered Zenith Medical.

He said, “I think I am the spokesperson for Zenith; I am impressed with what I got here, I submitted my whole life, and they took care of it”.

He was speaking on why Nigeria was a better place to do a transplant. He disclosed that he came from the U.S. thinking he was taking a risk and met people that came from the U.S. who were citizens of America.

The caption on his post showed the singer expressing gratitude to the management and staff of Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre for the professional execution of his surgery.

Background

DJ Jimmy Jatt is revered as one of the pioneering hip hop DJs in Nigeria.

In 2008, he started an event, Jimmy’s Jump Off concert, which became one of the most attended entertainment events in Nigeria.

In 2006, he won the Hip Hop World Hall of Fame award at the maiden edition of The Headies for his contribution to hip-hop in Nigeria.