NKF launches 'Dialysis at Home' initiative

PETALING JAYA: In line with the Health Ministry's directive to encourage new kidney patients to receive peritoneal dialysis (PD) at their homes, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) launched the "Dialysis at Home" initiative.
In a recent collaboration with Lucenxia Malaysia, a dialysis-machine specialist company which donated RM76,800 to spearhead the initiative, NKF chairman Datuk Dr Zaki Morad Mohd Zaher said the decision to fund PD patients would be more cost-effective and convenient since it is designed for use at home.
"It is also less resource intensive compared to the traditional home dialysis as patients are in full control of their own dialysis treatment," he said in a statement.
Approximately 2.5 million Malaysians, he added, were detected with some form of kidney disease in 2014 of which 35,000 are on dialysis, with the number increasing up to 7,000 each year.
"Every year, NKF needs to raise RM14.5 million to subsidise the dialysis treatment costs for more than 1,500 patients seeking treatment at our 26 dialysis centres nationwide.
"The donation from Lucenxia will ease the burden on patients and on our organisation as well. We hope that with the funding, they are able to enjoy a greater quality of life and be able to return to work as patients can do the PD at home while sleeping," Zaki added.
Lucenxia Malaysia managing director Low Chin Guan said with their contribution, patients are no longer constrained to thrice weekly trips to dialysis centres.