Make dialysis affordable for all kidney patients
Photo: STAR
There are 20 million patients who are suffering from kidney diseases in Bangladesh, which is about 14 per cent of the country's total population. More than 35,000 people are afflicted with kidney diseases every year and about 40,000 are dying due to kidney related diseases as told by experts in a seminar. Chronic kidney disease may be caused by diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders. Nowadays, people are habituated to take different pain killer drugs without consulting physicians. As a result, their kidneys gradually get affected. It is really unexpected for those who are below 30. One of the other reasons is the use of preservatives in fruits and vegetables. So, it is very important to be self-educated about symptoms of kidney failures and prevention. People are now familiar with using internet at home and office and they can find best answers from this source. Early detection and treatment can often stop chronic kidney disease from getting worse. When a kidney disease goes untreated, it may eventually lead to kidney failure, which requires dialysis or kidney transplant. This is a long process and the treatment is also expensive so far. Haemodialysis is the only hope for the aged kidney patients who are suffering from chronic kidney diseases. Kidney Foundation and a few public hospitals are facilitated with dialysis equipment. They are providing the service at a nominal cost. But, the number of seats is very limited. So, most of the patients have to depend on the private clinics where the charge of dialysis is very high. Usually they charge Tk. 3,000 to 4,000 per session and a patient has to spend Tk.32,000 to 50,000 per month. In view of this, the government hospitals, private clinics and NGOs should come forward and give proper attention to this humanitarian issue so that more kidney patients can get dialysis at nominal price.
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