Government to officially celebrate the World Kidney Day tomorrow

Kathmandu, March 7:

Highlighting the need to do a thorough medical check-up at least a year to keep kidney diseases at bay, Nepal is marking, ‘for the first time’, the World Kidney Day on Thursday.

According to an estimate, around 10,000 people are suffering from kidney failure in Nepal. The number goes up by 2,500 to 3,000 every year. In case of kidney failure, the last stage of kidney disease, the options for survival include living on dialysis for the rest of life or going for a kidney transplant.

The Thursday falling on the second week of March is marked as the World Kidney Day. he International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) and International Society of Nephrology, Committee for the WKD are joining hands with the government in raising awareness about kidney diseases.

Sumir Bhattarai, a 29-year-old, underwent a kidney transplant nine years ago as he was diagnosed with kidney failure. He is now dependent on medication that costs him Rs 3000 to 5000 every month.

His father Surendra Dev Bhattarai donated him kidney. The transplant operation cost him four lakh rupees and he had to depend on medicines worth around Rs 12,000 per month after the operation for about a year. According to Bhattarai, 10 people who underwent kidney transplant died as they could not afford the costly medicines.

“As there is no cure once the kidney fails, kidney failure should be prevented on time,” said Bhattarai. “A thorough check-up once a year, which costs just Re 300, can save a person from the lifetime of pain and financial burden.”

“With the launch of the day, we hope it will help prevent kidney diseases to some extent,” said Dr Rishi Raj Kafle, executive director at the National Kidney Centre (NKC). There is a need to generate awareness among people on the need to opt for a thorough check-up at least once a year. “Early detection helps treat the diseases completely and helps check kidney failure,” said Dr Kafle. The high date rate because of kidney failure can be curbed if the government introduces a special package where private and government hospitals can do screening and a thorough check-up of patients, Dr Kafle said.

The government has been sending health professionals to India and other countries for training so that transplantation of kidney can be done successfully here in the country, said Dr Nirakar Man Shrestha, special secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP).

According to the NKC, 10 to 25 per cent of diabetics develop kidney diseases. The US Renal Data indicated that diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of kidney failure, accounting for 44 per cent and 28 per cent of all new cases respectively.

In order to check the smuggling of kidney from the country, the government has also formed an Organ Transplant Committee, Dr Shrestha said.

According to the International Society of Nephrology, developed countries treat over one million individuals yearly for kidney diseases.

Schoolchildren donate money

Kathmandu: Students of the Minbhawan-based English Preparatory School (EPS) donated Re 10,015, the amount saved from their tiffin allowance, while the school gave Re 5,000 to three students, who are suffering from kidney diseases, on Tuesday. Dimpy Jalan, a kidney patient who has been undergoing treatment for the last six months at the NKC, was given Re 5,000. Rasana Nagarkoti and Rabina Chaudhary, patients admitted to the Bir Hospital, were given equipment necessary for their treatment. Astha Nepal, a seventh grader at the EPS who initiated the campaign, said she began collecting donations from her classmates because she was moved by stories published in newspapers about the children of her age suffering from kidney diseases.

Though the amount is small, the gesture is indeed praiseworthy, said Pramila Singh, principal of the school, calling on the students of other schools to follow the lead to save the lives of many. — HNS