Plight of kidney failure patients

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As i signed and stamped the fitness for travel document of Tamang Bahadur, i felt as if i was signing a death sentence.

Tamang Bahadur is an expatriat labourer from Nepal, he was diagnosed with kidney failure 2 months ago. His employer is not willing to pay 1200$ a month for dialysis treatment and his salary is 175$/month.

If one is diagnosed with kidney failure in this day & age he might be lucky to have been alive in 21st century. If heart fails or lungs or brain, there is nothing that modern medicine can offer to replace function of these organs, but if both kidneys fail, patient can go on to live for another 20-25 years with help of dialysis or one an get a kidey transplant. Kidney transplantation is most well established of all organ transplant procedure with excellent results. Advances in treatment of kidney failure have been the most important medical accomplishment of science in 20th century.

However, if one belongs to poor country like Nepal, all this may not mean anything. As always, i turned to google to find what chances Tamang Bahadur had of getting a dialysis done as he travelled to Nepal. Nepal, i found has capabilty of providing hemo(blood) dialysis to only 100 patients (they have 2500 kidney failure patients) and it costs 25,000 Rs per month, that too only twice per week, while the minimal accepted treatment is 3 times per week internationally. The other option he has to have peritoneal (water) dialysis. However, with poor hygenic conditions this won’t last very long.

Situation is similar for Patients in Pakisan. Dialysis charges are 30,000 Rs per month, perhaps only a 1000 patients are provided dialysis free of cost by government and rest depend upon philanthropic support, or have to sell their houses & properties. This support from gov too has come only in last few years.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

wow...to know that there is a common treatment available to save one's life(i.e. not some new high tech experimental thing) and not be able to get it must be crushing :(

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

:(

It is so sad and so unfair.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

what organizations are trying to provide support to patients? please put their info here , even if a few ppl contribute a little it can go a long way towards heloing soeone.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

Actually, i am not aware of any organization that is helping kidney patients specifically in Pakistan. I haven't worked in Pakistan except for sometime, that too 7 years ago.

I'll try to find out.

However, i do know that it is problem of massive proportion. The estimated incidence, that is, (new cases of kidney failure patients) is 100 per million popuation per year. With estimated population of 170 million, this translates into 17,000 new cases every year. It needs enormous resources, beyond any philanthropic organization can provide.

However, government is perhaps more interested in organising mixed sex marathons.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

And to add to that the human organ trafikking in countries like Pakistan as well as India where the rich people (mostly foreigners) r given the star treatment in 5 star hotels, while they BUY a much needed kidney from someone much in need of the money they offer in turn. There r no regulations still on such a trade.
The poor people r always on the receiving end of such extremes. I wish we can do something a least a little just to try to envoke some change. I agree with Frauds about the putting the helpful websites or addresses for the helping organizations.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

yeah but mixed sex marathons does not take a whole lot of funds to put together. if you are talking 17000 new cases/year, and then you estimate how many patients need dialyses any given year … figure out the number of machines, and the cost to aquire and maintain them, thats quite a bit of money. Not to say that it is not the govts respinsibility to make sure that it keeps priorities right.

you being in medical field and all, do you know how other counries are handling it, both from a prevention and a treatment perspective.

Also medical syste in Pakista is it like the UK, i.e. National Health Service or is there health insurace there? I know ppl pay out of pocket for a lot of stuff, but what is the medical scene like overall.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

I know Lions club and Rotary clubs do support the needy dialysis patients in South Asia. Please check their websites and email them for more information.

May Allah keep everyone safe and healthy. Ameen.

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

A harrowing affair.

Is there any way to support Kidney Failure treatment in pakistan?

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Re: Plight of kidney failure patients

In states most dialysis patients costs are paid by insurance. Others are supported by respective states and those very few who cannot get either, get philanthropic support. In UK NHS pays i think.

In some third world countries like in egypt, dialysis is fully imbursed by state, which is a great thing.

In terms of prevention, treating diabetes and hpertension can save lot of people. Diabetes is most common and hypertension is 2nd most common cause of kidney failure.

In Pakistan, health care system is non-existent i wud say. I worked in the most famous teaching hospital of Punjab, Mayo Hospital, and all what state provided was penicillin injections, X-rays, Oxygen and IV fluids(glucose). We often used to pay for medications of patients whom we thought had good chances of recovery, like kids with diabetic coma who just needed iv fluids and insulin. Imagine that state even did not provide insulin.

Funy thing was that despite paying out of our own pockets people thought we were cheats. They just cud not beleive that docs can pay for patients. They beleived that we had funds but we only spend when we wish.