Doctor: Kidney patients finding it hard to find donors due to pandemic

(Screenshot from Department of Health - Davao Region)
(Screenshot from Department of Health - Davao Region)

FINDING a kidney donor for dialysis patients became more challenging amid the pandemic, a health expert said.

Philippine Society of Nephrology Mindanao Chapter President Dr. Maria Theresa Bad-ang said finding a good kidney donor for their patients is a challenge now as the donor would need to present a negative RT-PCR result.

“Pero daghan mi referrals from end of life, mga na-stroke pero usahay dili namo mahimo kay walay result (But we do get a lot of referrals from end-of-life patients, those who suffered a stroke. However, we can’t do anything about it since they don’t have an RT-PCR test result),” said Dr. Bad-ang.

She invited interested individuals to an Organ Donation Sign-Up on June 15, 2021 wherein individuals who want to donate their kidney after their death will be given an Organ Donor Card.

She said this way, it will be easier for the families to understand that their loved ones really wanted his/her organs donated to those who need it should something bad happen to him/her.

Details of the said Organ Donation Sign-Up will be posted soon.

As of Monday, May 31, there are already a total of 324 kidney dialysis patients at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) who got positive of Covid-19.

From this number, 234 patients have already recovered, 24 patients are still admitted, and 66 individuals have died.

According to Bad-ang, in November 2020 when the Covid-19 cases among dialysis patients peaked to 70, they had to separate the Covid patients with non-Covid dialysis patients.

“Para sa mga patients on dialysis, katong nagsurge gyud ta puno ang SPMC. Gi-transfer namo ang negative sa MDRMC (Metro Davao Medical and Research Center Inc). Ang mga gi-transfer na patients wala gibayran. Kung unsa ilang benefits sa SPMC, mao pud ilang nakuha while having their dialysis sa MDRMC. Hatod sundo sila sa ilang balay sa CTTMO (City Transport and Traffic Management Office) aron dili na sila mag-jeep (For the non-Covid-19 patients on dialysis, we transferred to MDRMC. They didn’t pay for anything. Whatever their benefits were at SPMC were given to them upon transfer at MDRMC. CTTMO vehicles also bring them to and from their house so they won’t need to ride the public jeep),” said Dr. Bad-ang.

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