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Around 15,000 kidney patients in the North Central Province are in dire straits as 18 of the 29 dialysis machines in the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital are out of order. Of 40 patients with serious kidney damage needing daily dialysis, only 12 are accommodated.
In the North Central Province, especially in Padaviya, Medawachiya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, there are 1,500 patients with serious kidney damage who need dialysis thrice a week but the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa hospitals cannot cope with the number of patients.
According to the Director of the Anuradhapura Hospital Dr. A. Wijekoon though the World Health Organisation along with a team of local doctors had been engaged in a comprehensive research to ascertain the exact cause of so many cases of kidney failures in the Province, the main cause had not yet been found.
A renal unit was established in the Anuradhapura Hospital in March in view of the ever increasing cases of kidney failure in the NCP and now the Hospital is gearing itself to perform kidney transplant operations, too.
Commenting on the increasing number of kidney patients in the NCP, Director of the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health Dr. Prabha Palihawadena said that a WHO medical team and the local medical experts had so far ascertained that a heavy presence of cadmium in water, pollution of the Kalawewa water used for drinking purposes, use of agro chemicals, cooking in aluminium pots and consumption of illicit liquor had resulted in the growing number of kidney patients.
