Kidney Failure And Expensive Treatment

By Ek Raj Pathak

February 10, 2006 - Magh 28, 2062

Nepal Sambat 1126 Pohelaga Trayodashi

Kamal Sapkota is now confronting his life with adverse pain and plights at the delicate age of 18. He feels exhausted with his untiring wanderings in Kathmandu seeking for the financial support from the generous donors for the past five months. He came to Kathmandu avoiding his study in search of generous hearts to save his life after the doctors involved in his treatment declared the failure of his both kidneys.

A student of grade 12 at local Janak Higher Secondary in Nawalparasi district, he entered the capital city with a hope of receiving a substantial amount of support from kind-hearted people. But he could not get even a meager sum of aid out of his expectation. At present he is in the abyss of his pessimism and articulate his panic expression filled with agony and tragedy. He profoundly poured out his excruciating pain that his days are numbered. There has been a strenuous challenge to collect a total cash of Rs. 0.8 million which is indispensable for undertaking treatment in India as there is no service available for kidney transplantation in Nepal. The situation has compelled him to beg for support at the verge of life. Being poverty stricken, it has become fanciful dream for his father Ram Chandra to collect the huge amount of money for the treatment of his son. Residing at Gaindakot-7 of Nawalparasi district, he begged financial support for the life of his son through various newspapers. Most of the newspapers printed from Kathmandu published his photos and life story filled with grief and sorrow. But he has not got a considerable amount of support from anywhere.

Kamal is just an example. Like him, numerous appeals of the children seeking support for their treatment are found to have published in various daily newspapers. These newspapers have emphatically published various news and features of the cooperation appeal of the afflicted children. This news, published to lesser extent for the past few years, has increased in number in an unexpected manner. But the allying children are not getting as much the financial support as the volumes of appeals published in newspapers everyday. No more news of support regarding this has been found published. The instance has further intensified their vulnerable situation to be close at the mouth of death.

It is only an appeal for cooperation with the people with generous heart and mind. But we do not have any alternative rather than begging support when affluent people do not have any sense of compassion. They could not be forced for cooperation. But here the issue raised is about the responsibility to be taken by the government. Why the government has not been serious about the disparate situation of the patient even though the media has been raising their passionate and pitiable voice through various means? It does not mean that the appeal seeks financial support from the government. But the government has its own responsibility towards the state. Of course, the government should take the information imparted by the media, the fourth organ of the government, seriously as a guideline to formulate necessary policy to address the problem. Hence, the need of the hour is to provide kidney transplantation service in Nepal. The appeal of Kamal Sapkota also underlines the need of providing the very service within the country. If the service is accessible for these victims in Nepal, many of them would easily get a new life and millions of currency would not go abroad. Kidney transplantation has been invariably expensive and unaffordable in India for general Nepalese people due to the fact that they have to stay longer in hospitals during the treatment. The treatment can be accomplished with a total cost of Rs 0.3 to 0.4 million if it is available in Nepal. Otherwise, it will cost at least Rs. 0.8 million while undertaking treatment in India.

On the one hand there has been the increasing number of kidney failure cases in Nepal and on the other, poverty stricken people of Nepal have been clandestinely selling their kidney in India at the price ranging over Rs. 50, 000 to 1, 50, 000. Likewise, an increase of more than 2500 kidney patient is recorded every year in Nepal. But why the government has not been accountable and is still delaying to take concrete actions in keeping the view of the situation of the patients? Initiating kidney transplantation service in Nepal had received an enormous light four years back. The then health minister was often found stressing the need of establishing kidney transplantation centre in Nepal in almost all speeches he delivered around 2001. Moreover, then health minister Sharad Singh Bhandari gave an impressive interview announcing to initiate the service by January 2002 in Nepal. He had made the announcement public calling the representative of the Nepal Television in the Ministry. Unfortunately, nothing has been heard about the eagerly waited services now.

The state has already spent a sizeable amount of money for this. Number of doctors of Bir hospital has also been sent to India to attend months-long training on Kidney transplantation. Apart from this, Bir Hospital has also set up a separate centre for kidney transplantation and care. Likewise, the government has made a law regarding this by bringing up Act and Regulation about Organ Transplantation to facilitate its legal provision. Why the transplantation service has not been operational in Nepal despite the accomplishment of these remarkable works has been a serious question. What are the things that constrain the government to come up with the services? Why the experts at the Ministry have merely become onlookers to proceeding actions to operate these services in Nepal? These are the profound queries representing the voice of more than 10, 000 kidney patients of Nepal. If the government does not tend to address the problems surfaced by these bereaved at the moment, it will be vehemently cursed by the soul of these people.

It was reported a few months ago that a surgery of kidney transplantation was carried out on the initiatives of Dr. Arjun Dev Bhatta and Dr. Ashok Rana of Bir hospital but it became unsuccessful later. Why this initiative became unsuccessful and what else efforts have been made to have a resultant success in this mission? Neither does Bir hospital speak about its latest development nor is the government found to have shown its concern. In this juncture of time, thousands of children living with kidney failure have lost their hope to get treatment in their own nation. A surgery of kidney transplantation clandestinely carried out by Dr. Asarfi Shah had also failed. Children living with kidney failure are now suspicious about the operation of services in Nepal due to the failures for two times. It is not indeed an appropriate idea to put aside the efforts to take innovative actions. History shows that developed countries are also not getting success in the first attempt. Therefore, the concerned authorities should not delay to introduce kidney transplantation service in Nepal.

Copyright © 2005 Gorkhapatra Sansthan.

This article posted March 1, 2006.