The National Institute of Kidney Disease and Urology (NIKDU) Hospital has been lagging behind in carrying out kidney transplant procedures, with only 27 kidney transplant procedures taking place at the hospital since it was established in 2001.
The number is a stark contrast to more than 100 kidney transplants being carried out during the last two years at the Kidney Foundation Hospital and Research Institute and the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
Several kidney specialists told the Dhaka Tribune that chronic kidney diseases have emerged as a deadly threat to Bangladesh.
Around two crore people suffer from some sort of kidney disease, with 16%-18% of those patients suffering from chronic kidney disease.
Around 40,000 people reportedly die each year from chronic kidney diseases, while 20,000-30,000 more patients suffer from acute kidney failure.
The NIKDU offers cabin, medicine and all medical investigation at the hospital free of cost to all chronic kidney failure patients, while patients reportedly need around Tk50,000 for additional diagnostic tests that are not available at the hospital. On the other hand, patients require Tk3.5 lakh to Tk7 lakh for treatment at private hospitals.
The low costs, however, have failed to encourage patients to seek service at the national institute.
Seeking anonymity, several kidney specialists told the Dhaka Tribune that political intervention had prevented the appointment of the right person to run the institute and gain patients’ confidence.
However, Professor Zamanul Islam Bhuiyan, director of NIKDU, denied the allegation and said: “We are not getting enough donors for the transplant for the end-stage kidney failure patients.”
He said the number of kidney transplants across the country had decreased since the illegal business of kidney transplant was exposed in Joypurhat in 2011. Several cases were lodged against specialist doctors, nurses and locals who were involved with the illegal practice, Zamanul added.
Saying that relatives of kidney failure patients were afraid to donate their kidneys, the NIKDU director added that it would take more time to achieve the confidence of the patients.
He, however, admitted that it was partially true that the number of transplants was low at the national institute, but added that the NIKDU had been providing healthcare services to thousands of kidney and urology patients in its hospital.
With the existing situation persisting, Bangladesh will join the rest of the world in celebrating World Kidney Day 2014 today. The theme this year is: “Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and ageing.”
Professor MA Samad, president of Kidney Awareness Monitoring and Prevention Society (KAMPS), said patients who suffer kidney failure had to live on regular dialysis (haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis) or by transplanting their kidney.
He said patients had to spend around Tk4-6 lakhs annually for haemodialysis, Tk4-5 lakh for peritoneal dialysis; while the costs for a kidney transplant was Tk3.5 lakh to Tk7 lakh and over 1 lakh taka was also needed annually for medicine.
Professor Dr Harun-Ur-Rashid, chairman of Kidney Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, told the Dhaka Tribune that the government had enacted the human organ transplant act in 1999, but was yet to formulate the rules and regulations.
A national committee, formed following the Joypurhat scandal in 2011 and headed by Dr Harun, prepared a set of rules and regulation and submitted it to the health ministry more than a year ago. However, the law ministry recommended that the rules be revised before forming an updated act.
Dr Harun said the number of donors had decreased because of legal barriers. In order to save thousands of patients suffering from kidney failure, the government should launch a mass awareness programme for the relatives of brain-dead patients to donate their organs, he added.
However, it was not possible under the existing law, and new rules and regulations needed to be formed, he also said.
Professor Dr Rafiqul Alam, president of Renal Association of Bangladesh, told the Dhaka Tribune that the health ministry should take necessary steps to finalise the rules and regulations of the existing human organ transplant act of 1999.
The lack of rules was discouraging potential donors, he said, and estimated that the number of kidney transplants had halved in the last three years.