NKTI expansion pushed

CEBU, Philippines — The National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City is being eyed for expansion to cater patients from the Visayas and Mindanao.

A bill proposing the expansion of the facilities and services of NKT) is now up for discussion by the House Committee on Health.

Bohol Representative Erico Aristotle Aumentado sponsored the House Bill No. 5261 seeking the establishment of NKTI expansion centers in Bohol and Davao City for patients in the Visayas and Mindanao.

This is to give convenience to patients who find it difficult because of the expenses it would entail to go to Quezon City to try their luck at a chance for a transplant.

Aumentado explained the wait for a full-match donor can be exasperating, and the medicines for dialysis plus daily expenses in the big city can impoverish the patient and his or her family – not to mention the amount needed for the procedure itself, and the recuperation period.

He said the bill seeks to amend the NKTI Charter in order to bring it closer to the people adding that after all, it is the only government hospital that specializes on renal disease and transplant.

Expansion facilities with complete staff will definitely allow NKTI to expand its coverage to patients all over the country, he said.

Aumentado also stressed that Bohol is strategically located smack in the center of the Visayas islands while Davao City is the major hub in Mindanao.

In his bill’s explanatory note, Aumentado estimated the dialysis patients to be at around 70,000. Of this, thousands are waiting for a matching donor – with only around 400 able to undergo the transplant procedure. The extension facilities, he said, will improve the numbers. (FREEMAN)