Diabetic association gets new dialysis machines

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

"This clearly must be one of the most significant gifts the association has had in its near 50 years of existence," declared Professor Errol Morrison, last Wednesday, in accepting two Fresenius 800HD haemodialysis machines, on behalf of the Diabetic Association of Jamaica (DAJ).

The machines, which will allow DAJ to increase its dialysis-service capacity, by at least another 80 patients per month, were a gift from the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston, which also donated four reclining chairs and US$10,000 in cash to the association, its 2012-2013 major-project beneficiary.

"I don't know if you understand the tremendous implications of this. This stands between life and death," Morrison told the Kiwanians at the handing over ceremony at DAJ's office in St Andrew.

"My heart is full", said Morrison, president of DAJ. He went on to explain that, each year, between 900 and 1,000 new patients are diagnosed with end-stage renal failure, when the kidneys can no longer function normal and must, therefore, undergo regular dialysis.

Although the number of institutions offering this service is on the rise, with 60 machines available islandwide and the cost per a four-hour session ranging between US$350 and US$450, DAJ (which has been charging J$7,700 since 2007) finds itself under pressure to meet the needs of patients.

Some travel all the way from Negril, Westmoreland to catch the first session, starting at 5:00 a.m., despite the fact that there are institutions located much closer, which are offering the service but at a prohibitive cost.

"If you go to the centres that are recouping their full cost, that is the kind of value you will hear," Morrison noted.

"Offering the full treatment for J$7,700, at $107 to US$1, that is US$70, and we haven't included the cost of nurses and the supervisors. So I want you to understand that this is a tremendous contribution."

The medical doctor used the opportunity to remind Jamaicans that failure to treat kidneys well, the body's sieve, can have a debilitating impact on overall health. He explained that whereas the impact of end-stage renal failure is manifested primarily in the kidneys, other organs are already negatively affected.

"It blocks the heart, it blocks the brain and it blocks the nerves. Remember, it's one body, so when the kidneys start to get blocked, don't think it's only the kidneys alone - the heart, the brain, the eyes, the nerves are all affected. So the importance of the kidney is that of keeping the blood clean. You can help the others to survive a little longer, but they are all important," Morrison warned.