When patients have surgery, they do not think about where the waste from their bodies, such as fat from liposuction and other parts of their bodies, ends up. People think waste is just thrown into the garbage and destroyed, while in fact, medical waste is specially treated. While medical waste is classified as organic or human, other dangerous waste includes materials and instruments. "From the religious point of view, we have to respect the parts of our bodies, and not just throw them into the garbage. They have to be buried. So the hospital deals with a cleaning company to collect human waste to be buried in an area which is used for this purpose until it becomes full, and then the company finds a new burial site," plastic surgeon Dr Ashraf told Kuwait Times.
"Then there are other medical wastes that are incinerated. Usually, these are used tools, such as injections and other materials that might spread infections, so they are burned. I think that all hospitals follow the same procedure, and there are inspectors from the Ministry of Health at both public and private hospitals to ensure proper hygiene and safety," he added.
According to a religious sheikh at the fatwa department of the Ministry of Awqaf, which is responsible for responding to questions and issuing opinions based upon sharia, it is not necessary for body fat to be buried. "According to sharia, parts of the human body should be buried, such as a finger or others, though this does not apply to things or waste from the human body. So this is not applied to teeth, hair or nails, for instance, as well as other organic waste from the body, including fat. People also lose fat with sweating, yet they don't bury it. There is no religious evidence which requires burying fat, while there is clear evidence for burying body organs or parts," explained Sheikh Abu Emad.
Danny Sam'an, from the operations department of one of the popular cleaning companies dealing with hospitals, stated that the company receives medical waste from hospitals they are dealing with on a daily basis. "We classify the collected waste from hospitals as hazardous or normal waste. We destroy hazardous waste in three locations, including Mina Shuaiba, Seventh Ring Road, and Mina Abdullah. I don't know for how long these locations will be used, so after they are full the government will find us new locations," he pointed out.
Sam'an ensured that the process of collecting waste from hospitals is checked and controlled by supervisors from the Ministry of Health. "The collecting process is done with manifests and documents, including the weight of the waste, date and other information. So there are records of every collection," he noted.
© Kuwait Times 2012
