A group of medical professionals and entrepreneurs based in New York City has invested P5 million in Davao City’s health industry for the acquisition of five kidney dialysis machines to be used at the Nephrology Center of St. Alexius (NSCA) in Matina, Davao City.
This is in addition to the existing ten dialysis machines at the NSCA, which are all top of the line refurbished Fresenius machines regularly maintained by expert technicians at the Center.
The NSCA is the 14th center nationwide, and the third in Mindanao. The other two dialysis centers are located in Bajada, this city, with 15 machines), and in Butuan City.
“The Nephro Group has established dialysis centers in Luzon and Mindanao and is eyeing Visayas, maybe next year, and the smaller peripheral cities/towns,” NSCA administrator Trinidad F. Ola said.
The Nephro Group has put up an average of one dialysis center a year since it started in 1995. The Group has been very bullish during the last two years and, while it only focused on major cities before, it is now looking at the establishment of dialysis centers in smaller towns.
“The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), formerly Davao Medical Center (DMC) is also planning to expand its dialysis services from the previous 24 dialysis machines to about 60 machines, and we welcome that,” NSCA medical director Dr. Franklin B. Guillano said, adding that the increasing number of dialysis centers in the city is the answer to the needs of the growing population.
The Philippine Society of Nephrology has predicted that at least 10,000 people will need dialysis every year. Guillano said the Department of Health’s Renal Disease Control Program (REDCOP) reported that at least 7,000 patients started their dialysis sessions in 2009.
Guillano said REDCOP’s reports show that one Filipino develops chronic renal failure every hour or about 120 Filipinos per million population per year.
“This means almost one fourth of those who need dialysis were not able to start with the procedure,” he said. However, he added, most of those who have already started their dialysis procedure could not even sustain the treatment primarily due to financial reasons.
The kidney is a very important organ because it filters an estimated 1,500 liters of blood every day. Kidney failure can lead to build-up of waste in the blood, and without dialysis which removes wastes and toxins in the blood, the build-up could increase and can lead to coma and even death.
He said data on the mortality rate of kidney patients show that they do not die because of the disease itself, but because of their failure to sustain the dialysis.
“The Nephro Group is a service-oriented company with the goal of making dialysis accessible and affordable to Filipinos,” Ola said. The NSCA, she added, is an open center and all other nephrologists or kidney doctors can bring their patients for dialysis here.
The Center takes pride in providing high quality service to its patients. It has a high quality water system which makes use of the reverse osmosis system for dialysis. The NSCA also employs Manila-trained in-house technicians to regularly maintain their machines.
Cost of dialysis
While the establishment of a private dialysis center has made the treatment accessible to Dabawenyos and residents of adjacent provinces, the cost of getting regular dialysis is also another factor that prohibits patients from getting the treatment.
Guillano said kidney patients have to undergo dialysis twice a week and that can be draining on the wallet. However, he said, the cost of dialysis has dramatically gone down from the previous P5,000 fee per session to around P800 with Philhealth or government insurance, and P2,500 without Philhealth.
“The lowest rate for dialysis due to the Philhealth package was pioneered in Davao City, and some other areas are already planning to follow suit,” he said.
Despite a reduction in the cost of dialysis, Guillano said, Dabawenyos should keep their kidneys healthy all the time by living a healthy lifestyle. While it is difficult to diagnose kidney trouble because there are no symptoms, he suggests a yearly urinalysis which only costs P20.
Guillano said dialysis is not really a cure for renal failure, but it is an artificial method to replace the functions used to be provided by the kidney, including fluid removal and waste removal.
The problem is that people tend to take their kidneys for granted, especially when they do not feel anything. In most cases, renal failure is detected only when the patient is already too sick and is already a candidate for dialysis.
While renal failure is asymptomatic, research shows that there are some common conditions felt by those who have kidney problems, like erectile dysfunction or difficulty in sustaining an erection, fatigue, water retention and blood in urine. Lovely A. Carillo
