• Transplant machines in Kenya to bring the cost down by half
• NGO Kidney Research Kenya to partner with China to make renal services accessible in all rural level 4 hospitals
Image: MAGDALINE SAYA
The cost of kidney treatment will be reduced substantially after all level 4 hospitals and health facilities in the country are equipped with dialysis machines.
Kidney Research Kenya plans to put in place - in partnership with China - mechanisms to ensure that dialysis services are accessible across the country.
KRK is a non-profit organisation founded by Dr Macharia Gakuru to establish affordable patient-focused renal care including dialysis, kidney transplantation and renal specialised training.
Macharia on Wednesday said 50 students from across the country are set to benefit from sponsored scholarships. They will be trained as nephrologists, surgeons and nurses to create ‘Centres of Excellence in Renal Health’ in Kenya.
The intention is to support the government agenda of improving Kenya's renal services.
“We have so far trained three doctors from Kiambu. We train them at King’s College, London, and Cairo University,” Macharia said.
Cases of kidney disease are on the rise in Kenya with about 8,000 new cases reported annually, according to the Kenya Renal Association.
Data shows that one in every 10 Kenyans has some form of kidney disease. This translates to about four million people.
Out of this number, about 10,000 die annually. Doctors attribute the deaths to late diagnosis leading to delayed treatment and care.
Patients with kidney failure often require about two to three sessions of dialysis. Each costs about Sh5,000 in public hospitals and twice as much in private facilities.
Dialysis is done in major referral public hospitals in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret.
Kidney transplantation costs Sh250,000-Sh3 million locally, depending on the hospital. The cost is higher in India.
“We want to try and bring these costs down by encouraging Chinese healthcare manufacturers to make Kenya a manufacturing hub for pharmaceuticals and machinery including research.”
The doctor said most costs to do with dialysis are based on machine cost, consumables cost and the cost of where the machines are.
“The machines we have in Kenya will see the costs go down by half the price. Since most are produced in China, rather than going through third parties and fourth parties, we can get them directly from China and subsequently lower the cost for all of us,” he said.
Private hospitals such as MP Shah in Nairobi offer dialysis at Sh9,500 per session under NHIF cover.
Acute kidney patients on dialysis are often referred for transplants. The NHIF pays Sh9,000 per patient per dialysis session and Sh500,000 for a kidney transplant at private hospitals.
Top hospitals charge about Sh2 million for each transplant outside the NHIF cover, underlining the huge benefits of the government-backed cover, especially for low-income households.
But Macharia hopes with the new strategy, the cost of dialysis per session can be brought down for the good of the country and the patient.
They set up the first renal centre in Kikuyu Hospital in 2009. The next location is Nyandarua county.
“The government has done a lot. We are only adding value to what has already been put in place,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie