Doctor to donate dialysis units in India

As part of a charity drive before the Holy Month of Ramadan, an Indian doctor in the UAE is setting up dialysis units in each of the fourteen districts in his home state of Kerala to help poor patients who do not have access to such facilities there.

Dr KP Hussain, a prominent Indian social worker and Chairman of Fathima Healthcare Group, UAE, will donate Rs10 million to set up the new dialysis machines. The first unit will be inaugurated by the Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on July 24, 2011 at Ernakulam district hospital.

Kidney diseases have been on the rise in India, with many expatriate workers returning home, infected with diabeties, ending up as kidney failure patients back home.

Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC), the overseas wing of the Indian Union Muslim League had earlier started a similar campaign in the state.

Many of these patients end up spending their life's savings on treatment. The first dialysis machine donated by Dr Hussain will be installed at the District Government Hospital Ernakulam, followed by five other district hospitals, mainly in the Malabar region.

Dr Hussain, who is also the Chairman of United Indian Expatriates Council, has invited participation from other Indian expatriate associations to join the campaign.

“Kidney dialysis units are not available in many districts of Kerala. There is increasing demand for such facilities. India has 20 million kidney failure patients, only 2 per cent of such patients get dialysis facility from hospitals and five per cent of the patients get kidney transplantation. The cost of dialysis per month could sometimes amount to the entire monthly family income and sometimes more than that, the cost ranging from Indian Rs900 to Rs1,600 per dialysis,” Dr Hussain said.

“I have been living in the UAE for 20 years and travel frequently between the two countries. I realize that the number of poor patients needing free dialysis has been growing,” the businessman and social worker said.

He added that many kidney failure patients reside in villages and their mobilization to the available dialysis centres is highly expensive and not easily affordable. In addition, the kidney patients travelling with waste fluid in their body with malfunctioning kidney is very difficult.

"Making the facility available in their district headquarters would make it easy for kidney patients to avail this facility,” Dr Hussain said.

Five dialysis machines will be installed immediately at Wayanad, Manjeri, Tirur, Vadakara and Kozhikkodu. Within three to six months, the same facility will be arranged in other districts of the state.

He said a non-government organization committee will be formed to look after the day-to-day activities and further execution of this programme. The committee will  be formed in each district of Kerala and will work with the government for developing the programme further.

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