THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) will conduct a soft launch of its Kidney and Transplant Institute to streamline kidney-related services for the public.
Dr. Maria Therese Bad-ang, head of the SPMC Kidney and Transplant Institute, said the Kidney and Transplant Institute, set to open on November 28, 2025, will be the 17th institute under SPMC.
Dr. Bad-ang said that with the institute in place, they will have an entire building dedicated to kidney care, which services to offer include hemodialysis with a 100-bed capacity, peritoneal dialysis, kidney transplantation, an immunology laboratory, urology, nephrology training, pediatric nephrology, and nursing and dialysis training.
She noted that while SPMC already provides these services, they are currently located in different areas. With the new institute, everything will be housed in one place.
“Now it will be in one area, one center, one stop-shop na pagpunta mo sa institute makikita mo na ang institute, hindi na yung different areas na kung saan-saan magpunta (Now it will be in one area, one center, a one-stop-shop. When you go to the institute, you will see the institute right away, and you won’t have to go to different places anymore),” she said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw on Monday morning, November 24, 2025, at SM City Davao.
“Dili na sila magtuyok-tuyok sa SPMC, naa nay sariling operating room so spat ang operating room na functional (They won’t have to go around SPMC anymore because they now have their own operating room. The operating room there is already functional),” she continued.
She said that kidney patients now only have to go directly to the Kidney Institute for their services.
Bad-ang also said that they are aiming to become the National Kidney and Transplant Institute of the South so that patients from Mindanao will no longer need to travel to Manila to access such services.
The institute, she said, can admit 62 patients, while outpatient dialysis services can cater to three high-risk patients as it has the same number of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) machines operating 24 hours, until the full opening of their dialysis center in March 2026. Once fully operational, the center will have a 100-bed dialysis capacity, able to cater to around 300 patients daily.
At present, SPMC has 55 dialysis beds and can serve around 150 patients per day.
Bad-ang added that the new institute will only have a 62-bed capacity for patients with renal problems. However, with the increasing number of chronic kidney disease patients, they anticipate continued demand for services.
Number of kidney patients
Bad-ang revealed that SPMC caters to about 200 kidney patients daily. With the new institute, they will be able to process urology-related operations, kidney transplants, and dialysis more efficiently.
According to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), around 64,845 individuals underwent dialysis in 2024 in the Philippines — a 22 percent increase from 53,296 in 2023.
Bad-ang said the public should not fear dialysis because it is not permanent; rather, it serves as a bridge toward kidney transplantation. However, she noted that kidney disease mortality in the region has increased to 13 percent, as many patients have other underlying diseases that often lead to death.
According to the NKTI and the Department of Health (DOH), there are 38 transplant centers in the country. Of that number, 11 are government hospitals, and 27 are private hospitals.
Moreover, the number of deceased donors in the country is decreasing. As of June 2025, the national waiting list for patients needing transplantation records 456. Of that number, 437 are waiting for kidney donors, 15 for liver, and four for lung transplants.
The NKTI reported that the number of individuals undergoing dialysis has reached 64,845 in 2024, a 22 percent increase from 53,296 recorded in 2023. The national institute said that 56.34 percent of the patients are male who have kidney stones and other kidney issues, while 43.65 percent are female.
He said about 40.82 percent of individuals with kidney disease are aged 60 years and above; 57.44 percent are between 20 to 59 years old; 0.62 percent are aged 11 to 19; and 1.11 percent are 10 years old and below.
The NKTI pediatric nephrology also reported that cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children increased from 144 (9.3percent) in 2023 to 301 (12.1 percent) in 2024, which is a three percent hike.
Of the pediatric CKD cases, 55 percent were boys and 45 percent were girls. Most of the cases are boys who are linked to congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract, which are usually caused by posterior urethra valves found in males only.
The age distribution data showed that 128 patients were aged 16 to 18, 120 were 11 to 15 years old, 38 were 6 to 10 years, and 15 were 5 years old or younger.
According to NKTI, for living donor kidney transplants, the one-year patient survival rate is 98 percent, and for a five-year survival rate is 95 percent. For deceased-donor kidneys, the one-year survival rate is 96 percent, and the five-year survival rate is 95 percent.
Usual cases of kidney diseases
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK-NIH) revealed that the number one cause of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) worldwide is high blood sugar, which damages kidney blood vessels over time. The second most common cause is increased blood pressure, as it damages the kidney arteries and filtering units.
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) also said that prolonged use of ibuprofen, naproxen, antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, and lithium are cited as among the causes of kidney damage, as these cause cyst formation and kidney enlargement.
The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) cited lifestyle factors which increase the risk for kidney diseases are smoking, high-sodium diets, obesity (leading to diabetes and hypertension), and excessive alcohol use.
Healthy lifestyle urged
Bad-ang urged the public to get checked before the holiday season, noting that people tend to undergo checkups only in January — when the body begins to show the negative effects of excessive holiday eating.
“Ang pinaka-mandate gyud namo is prevention kay dili dahil naay libre na dialysis dapat i-stop nimo ang imuhang kidney disease (Our main mandate really is prevention, because just because dialysis is free doesn’t mean you should stop managing your kidney disease),” she said.
She explained that salt and sugar are acceptable in moderation. She emphasized that individuals should consume portions appropriate for one person and not more, recommending a daily salt intake of 1.2 grams only. With this, she warned that a single pack of junk food contains around 2,500 milligrams (2.5 grams) of salt already, noting that the kidney patients they cater to are becoming younger. RGP WITH REPORTS FROM PIA, PNA