According to reports, one in every 10 adults in India suffers from chronic kidney disease (CKD), and at any given point, nearly five lakh patients are in need of life-long dialysis or transplant.
Out of total kidney patients in India, only around 6,000 patients receive new kidney and another 30,000 can afford or get access to dialysis. For the remaining 4.5 lakh, there was no definitive treatment and their survival is difficult beyond a few weeks, according Nephrology experts.
Diabetics and those with high blood pressure constitute nearly 60 per cent of all CKD patients. The disease is more common than stroke and diabetes, and of a magnitude almost equal to diabetes. The cost of treatment for an average patient is many times more than treating diabetes and stroke.
However, “just two simple tests to check the level of protein in urine and a blood test for measuring serum creatinine once a year can help prevent the disease. Unfortunately there is abject lack of awareness among people to go for routine tests which can help prevent the disease to a large extent. Lack of trained manpower is another major reason that hampers health-care delivery. Statistics suggests that India has only 850 qualified nephrologists for a country of 1.2 billion people.
On World Kidney Day today, let each of us wake up to the enormity of this dreaded disease which is spreading fast and has almost hit 17% of urban youths in India and must take preventive measures and avoid risk factors which are contributing to spread of disease in our country. Let us take care of our kidneys, it ages like us.
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