Kerala - Kochi

Helping patients with renal failure

Hundreds of patients with total renal failure undergo dialysis at various hospitals, on an average twice a week. With no other option other than kidney transplant, patients have to regularly visit the hospital for a dialysis.

Though there are options like peritoneal dialysis, which would cut down drastically on hospital visits, this option is a rather costly affair. Even the usual haemodialysis would cost at least Rs.600 in a good hospital. A patient would have to shell out Rs.75,000 to Rs.1 lakh a year on dialysis alone.

Dialysis is the only option with patients with end-stage renal diseases. When the efficiency of kidney comes down to less than 10 per cent, it is called the end stage renal disease. There are no specific symptoms in kidney failure until 70-80 per cent of both kidneys are damaged, says nephrologist Mammen M. John, consultant at Medical Trust Hospital.

Symptoms include nausea, decreased appetite, vomiting, itching, swelling of feet and face. Cadaver transplants need to be encouraged for which people have to pledge their organs for transplant in case of brain death in accidents. It is important that organ donation be discussed at home with family members, said Dr. John.

To provide relief to the poor who are unable to afford the cost of dialysis, Navajeevanam Dialysis Centre, a unit of Sri Satya Sai Orphanage Trust, had been running a dialysis centre free-of-cost for a year. The centre started with 12 patients with support from Lakshmi Hospital, where room space is provided free-of-cost. Another 12 patients were added at the JNM Lakshmi Hospital, Kalamassery, under this service.

The patients selected for dialysis were from the poorest of the poor, said a centre volunteer. All the 24 patients would be given dialysis treatment lifelong, he said. There are over 200 needy patients listed with the centre. The trust has also drawn up plans to adopt the family of a patient, if he or she dies.

Another unit of the centre will soon be opened in Thiruvananthapuram. Navajeevanam has plans to open such units in all districts. A get-together of the 24 patients receiving free treatment was held here recently.

Shyama Rajagopal

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