Dr Adib Rizvi: A Life in Service

Ali Nawaz Rahimoo

Umarkot: On a busy morning at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) in Karachi, hundreds of patients line up for their tokens. 

Children, women, and elderly men wait side by side, knowing they will be treated with the same dignity regardless of wealth, background, or social class. Here, the promise is simple yet revolutionary: treatment is free—completely free—from diagnosis to medicine, surgery, dialysis, and transplants.

This institution, South Asia’s largest kidney treatment facility, was not always so vast. It began in 1975 with just an eight-bed ward at Civil Hospital Karachi. At the center of this transformation was a young urologist, Dr. Syed Adibul Hasan Rizvi, who believed that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.

From a Small Ward to South Asia’s Largest Facility

Born in India in August 1940 and migrating to Pakistan after Partition, Dr. Rizvi trained in urology in the United Kingdom before returning home. His mission was clear: free kidney treatment for the poor.

What started as dialysis services expanded into a full-fledged hospital offering organ transplants, blood transfusions, laser surgery, and advanced care for kidney and liver diseases.

With support from the Sindh government, philanthropists such as Dewan Mushtaq, and Karachi’s business families, SIUT was built on two acres of land. Over the decades, the facility grew into a 1,500-bed hospital serving patients from across Pakistan. Today, it performs over 500 dialysis sessions every day.

SIUT’s model rests on public trust. In 2005, the SIUT Trust was formally established, supported not just by the government and donors, but also by countless former patients who contribute to sustain the same free care they once received.

A Doctor Among His Patients

Dr. Rizvi’s presence is woven into the very fabric of SIUT. Colleagues describe him as tireless—performing surgeries for days without pause, personally checking on patients in every ward, and offering comfort not just as a doctor, but as a caregiver. Stories abound of him helping patients with the most basic needs, even carrying children or elderly patients to the restroom in slippers.

At SIUT, there are no VIP rooms or private wards. “Free with dignity” is not a slogan but a practice. The pediatric ward is perhaps the most moving. Despite being tethered to dialysis machines, children smile and share the same dream: “When I grow up, I want to be Dr. Adib Rizvi.”

Expanding the Vision

In recent years, the Sindh government handed SIUT a new chapter—transforming the former Regent Plaza Hotel on Karachi’s Shahrah-e-Faisal into an extended hospital facility. This expansion is critical as the original SIUT building, located in the crowded old city, struggles to accommodate the flood of patients seeking care.

Despite its size, Dr. Rizvi has ensured SIUT never loses its founding principle. He has kept his own family away from management, instructing in his will that his son and daughter—both doctors—will not inherit administrative control. For him, SIUT must remain a public institution, never a family-run legacy.

Championing Organ Donation

Beyond treatment, Dr. Rizvi has fought to change how Pakistan views organ donation. He often emphasizes that one person’s pledge can save up to 17 lives. His advocacy contributed to the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (2010), which both enabled ethical deceased organ donations and curbed trafficking. Still, awareness remains low, a challenge he continues to address.

Global Respect

Dr. Rizvi’s philosophy and work have earned him accolades worldwide:

Ramon Magsaysay Award (1998) – often dubbed Asia’s Nobel Prize

Hamdan Award for Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services (2004)

WHO Shousha Prize (2008)

Nishan-i-Imtiaz (2018) – Pakistan’s highest civilian honor

Humanitarian Recognition Award by the American Urological Association (2024)

But for those who walk SIUT’s corridors, his true honor is something simpler—the chance to live, recover, and hope.

A Legacy Beyond One Man

Dr. Rizvi supervises every financial audit himself, reminding donors: “Every rupee given in the name of charity must be accounted for in this world to achieve honor in the hereafter.” His transparency and sincerity have turned SIUT into a rare model of trust in Pakistan’s healthcare landscape.

For patients, SIUT is not just a hospital; it is a sanctuary where equality, compassion, and dignity are as essential as medicine. For staff, Dr. Rizvi is more than a leader; he is the embodiment of service.

As one admirer once wrote of him: “The land of Sindh is my mother … I have not yet been able to repay the debt.”

Through SIUT, Dr. Adib Rizvi has spent his life attempting to repay that debt—one patient, one surgery, one act of kindness at a time.