MANILA, Philippines — The Kidney Foundation of the Philippines (KFP) opened yesterday a dialysis center in Pasig to help cash-strapped patients who cannot afford renal treatment.
The facility has 20 dialysis machines that may eventually be increased to 30, to accommodate at least 40 patients daily.
KFP executive director Gilda Resurreccion said treatments at the foundation could be covered by PhilHealth, but the center would shoulder dialysis sessions that could not be covered by the state insurer.
She said the foundation is planning to put up renal facilities in Northern Luzon and Eastern Visayas.
“We are partnering with local government units and other private foundations to open more dialysis centers in the provinces,” Resurreccion said.
Arlene Lamban, one of the nephrologists in the facility and a board member of KFP, said access to healthcare facilities that help patients with kidney diseases is crucial, considering how diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, which lead to kidney failure, are prevalent in the country.
Based on the Philippine Renal Disease Registry, kidney failure is the fifth leading cause of death in the country, with one Filipino developing chronic renal failure every hour.
The registry said over 60,000 Filipinos are undergoing dialysis annually, with an increasing rate of more than 10 percent in kidney disease cases.
The KFP offers kidney care services, diagnostic healthcare as well as therapeutic and rehabilitative care for renal diseases. It is also an advocate for organ donation and transplantation.