New Delhi: With 6000 and counting kidney transplants under its belt, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has rightfully boasted of being centre of excellence on World Kidney Day (March 10).
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital today completed more than 6000 Kidney Transplants out of which 250 are ABO incompatible (patients whose blood group does not match). According to Dr. A.K. Bhalla, Chairman & HOD, Department of Nephrology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi and President of Indian Society of Nephrology, ‘In the past, 30% of patients are normally rejected because of Blood Group mismatch but in ABO Kidney Transplants we can reduce the antibodies in blood and successful Kidney Transplant can be carried on for such patients.
According to Dr. D.S. Rana, Chairman, Institute of Renal Sciences and Chairman (BOM), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, “At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital we are doing 3000 hemo-dialysis every month, 120 patients are on peritoneal dialysis (dialysis which can be done at home)”. Dr. Rana further said, “chronic kidney diseases caused 1.20 million deaths globally and new estimate suggests that chronic kidney disease – related mortality would be the 5th leading cause of deaths by 2040.”
According to Prof. Narayan Prasad, Secretary of the Society, Prof and Head of Nephrology, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, “Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are major causes of mortality, accounting for 71% globally. It outnumbered the communicable diseases, possibly with the exception of the death during the Coronavirus diseases pandemic in recent years. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is one of the most common NCDs, leading to premature morbidity and mortality, globally including in India”.
The Indian Society of Nephrology celebrates World Kidney Day every year jointly with the International Society of Nephrology and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations to promote the awareness of kidney diseases nationally and internationally. Today on 10th March 2022 was celebrated with the theme “Kidney Health For All”.
According to Dr. Sanjeev Gulati, the President-elect of the society and Principal Director, Nephrology, Fortis Hospital groups, “The use of many harmful herbs, allergen proteins and water baths for treatments of CKD etc. that is not truly scientific, but costly and harmful. This is especially true for low-middle income countries like India, where people choose the non-authenticated treatments within their limited resources that harm them, sometimes leading to death”.
In recent years in 2016, the Government of India has made several attempts to improve the care of CKD patients. However, the Prime Minister’s National Dialysis program aimed to dialyze all poor people requiring dialysis at the district level hospital by creating a dialysis facility. The deceased donor transplant programs are also emerging in many states, which is again a leap forward step to fill the gap to some extent, however insufficient to cover all. We suggest all high-risk people should be screened for CKD: elderly above 60 years, diabetics, hypertensives, obese patients, people with a family history of CKD, chronic smokers, and people with stone diseases for CKD. Simple tests like urine protein test and estimating serum creatinine value and glomerular filtration rate are required. There is a need to refocus on government policies to prioritize kidney health, leading to major benefits for patients and the healthcare economy. Thus, a coordinated effort needs to be made at all levels of society to address the growing burden of kidney diseases, and bridging the Knowledge gap is the key to delivering Kidney Health for All as “Knowledge is Power.”
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