Kidney patients should not die without treatment
Kidney disease, a vital organ of the body, is so expensive to treat that 80 percent of patients die without treatment.
The statistics, released in a report on World Kidney Day on Thursday, are alarming. It also highlights the limitations and harsh realities of our healthcare system.
More worrying is the news that 35 million people in the country are suffering from kidney disease and 30 to 40 thousand patients are suffering from kidney failure every year.
Regular dialysis, necessary medications, and kidney transplants for kidney patients all require large sums of money, which is impossible for even a middle-class family to afford.
Although kidney treatment is somewhat affordable in government hospitals, adequate services are not available there.
As a result, ninety-three percent of patients face financial difficulties in meeting the costs of going elsewhere for dialysis.
On average, a patient spends about eighty thousand taka per month for kidney treatment at a private hospital.
In this situation, the government should make the treatment system for kidney disease more extensive and accessible.
Increase the number of dialysis centers at the district and divisional levels, ensure the necessary machines and trained manpower in government hospitals.
And it is important to introduce subsidies or special assistance for poor patients.
It is also important to simplify the kidney transplant process and increase public awareness about organ donation.
Public awareness needs to be created. It should be kept in mind that by increasing the scope of close relatives for organ transplantation, no one can do business by taking the opportunity to receive organs from ’emotional donors’.
At the same time, it is important to emphasize preventive measures.
The risk of kidney disease can be greatly reduced by controlling diabetes and high blood pressure, regular health checkups, and leading a healthy lifestyle.
A joint effort by the government, medical institutions and media is needed to create public awareness on this issue. Citizens must be motivated to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Besides, kidney disease should be treated before it becomes severe.
It should be remembered that once kidney disease occurs, it is not possible to recover from it.
It is the moral responsibility of the state to ensure that people with kidney disease are not pushed to death simply due to lack of money.
Timely planning and adequate investment is essential to develop a humane and tolerant healthcare system for kidney patients.
The country’s budget for the health sector is very low, and there is no alternative to the government’s sincerity in increasing it to ensure the health of its citizens.
