By NATION REPORTER
THE University Teaching Hospital has run out of fluids and other consumables required for renal patients on Peritonial Dialysis (PD) therapy for over five weeks.
And the Kidney Foundation of Zambia (KFZ) has appealed for immediate intervention from the President Edgar Lungu on the matter. KFZ chairperson, Thabo Kawana said in a statement there were no PD fluids at UTH in both the adult ward and the children’s ward.
Mr Kawana said patients were being referred to Augusta, the supplier in Lusaka to purchase at K2, 000 per box per day (for manual based dialysis) and K4,200 per box per day (for machine based dialysis). “This entails that K60000 and K126,000 respectively is required per patient per month,” he said in a statement.
Mr Kawana said for hemodialysis (HD), there were no lines (4008 and 5008), dialyzers and consumables at UTH to facilitate dialysis resulting in fatalities being recorded due to inadequate or erratic dialysis sessions.
He said patients were acquiring the medical supplies at K8,190 per week which amounts to K32,520 per month.
Mr Kawana said transplant patients had run out of Immuno suppressants (MMF and Tacrolimus) thereby putting their lives on a high risk of kidney transplant rejection.
He encouraged government to consider resuming kidney transplantation procedure in Zambia, following one done in October 2018, for patients who had compatible donors.
“Our research has indicated that it costs a total of US$30, 000 (inclusive of actual surgery; air tickets, accommodation, meals and incidentals for three) for transplantation to be conducted in India.
“Bringing the Indian doctors to Zambia to work with our local doctors as was the case in 2018 will cost between $US7, 000 and $US10, 000,” said Mr Kawana.
