Kidney patients get treatment centre at Mulago
Mar 17, 2007
KIDNEY patients will no longer have to travel for treatment with the new Renal Unit at Mulago Hospital. Only cases that need renal transplants will be referred to other countries.
By Fred Ouma
KIDNEY patients will no longer have to travel for treatment with the new Renal Unit at Mulago Hospital. Only cases that need renal transplants will be referred to other countries.
The Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya on Thursday commissioned the unit with a call for innovation in medicine.
“The unit alone is not enough. We must continue to be innovative. We must look at ultimate solutions to the problem. The best cost-effective option is for us to be able to carry out transplants.â€
Bukenya called for a shift from routine medical practice to industrial medical practice to ensure all-round diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases.
The 18-bed unit on the sixth floor is equipped with four modern heamodialysis machines worth sh240m. The machines rid the body of toxins when the kidneys fail. The patient’s blood is pumped into the machine which clears it of toxins and returns the clean blood to the patient.
The treatment is a short-term measure for acute kidney failure in which there is a chance that the kidneys will recover within a week or two. It could also be done on a long-term basis where the kidneys are irreversibly damaged and the patient has no donor for a transplant.
Flanked by Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, the state minister for primary health care and Prof. George Kiirya, the Health Service Commission chairman, Bukenya said the unit would save the country millions spent on referrals abroad.
In Uganda, dialysis costs about sh1.5m per month, while a transplant in India is at $20,000 (sh35m). About four to five kidney patients are received at the centre monthly.
Dr. Edward Kigonya, the senior consultant physician in charge of the unit, said most of the patients they received were in the last stage of kidney failure.
“Patients you see here (at the unit) are the tip of the iceberg of the many such Ugandans with irrecoverable kidney failure. Only a tiny number, about 2%, can afford this costly treatment,†he said.
He added that they would conduct a national study to establish the actual magnitude of renal problems, for effective planning.
The kidneys are the second most important organs after the lungs. Their failure to function leads to death within weeks, said Kigonya, a kidney and hypertension specialist.
Those susceptible to kidney failure include diabetics, those with high blood pressure, accident victims, pregnant women during delivery and those suffering from infections like a sore throat.
KIDNEY patients will no longer have to travel for treatment with the new Renal Unit at Mulago Hospital. Only cases that need renal transplants will be referred to other countries.
The Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya on Thursday commissioned the unit with a call for innovation in medicine.
“The unit alone is not enough. We must continue to be innovative. We must look at ultimate solutions to the problem. The best cost-effective option is for us to be able to carry out transplants.â€
Bukenya called for a shift from routine medical practice to industrial medical practice to ensure all-round diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases.
The 18-bed unit on the sixth floor is equipped with four modern heamodialysis machines worth sh240m. The machines rid the body of toxins when the kidneys fail. The patient’s blood is pumped into the machine which clears it of toxins and returns the clean blood to the patient.
The treatment is a short-term measure for acute kidney failure in which there is a chance that the kidneys will recover within a week or two. It could also be done on a long-term basis where the kidneys are irreversibly damaged and the patient has no donor for a transplant.
Flanked by Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, the state minister for primary health care and Prof. George Kiirya, the Health Service Commission chairman, Bukenya said the unit would save the country millions spent on referrals abroad.
In Uganda, dialysis costs about sh1.5m per month, while a transplant in India is at $20,000 (sh35m). About four to five kidney patients are received at the centre monthly.
Dr. Edward Kigonya, the senior consultant physician in charge of the unit, said most of the patients they received were in the last stage of kidney failure.
“Patients you see here (at the unit) are the tip of the iceberg of the many such Ugandans with irrecoverable kidney failure. Only a tiny number, about 2%, can afford this costly treatment,†he said.
He added that they would conduct a national study to establish the actual magnitude of renal problems, for effective planning.
The kidneys are the second most important organs after the lungs. Their failure to function leads to death within weeks, said Kigonya, a kidney and hypertension specialist.
Those susceptible to kidney failure include diabetics, those with high blood pressure, accident victims, pregnant women during delivery and those suffering from infections like a sore throat.