patient has to get somebody with marching kidney and who is willing to spare him/her one. With the soaring rates of kidney failure, how sensible is it to predicate treatment of kidney failure on transplants? If people with two kidneys are having problem, getting people to donate kidney may be as rare as rainbow. But even if some people want to commit suicide by donating one of their kidneys, how do we get enough supply to bail out over 500 million people battling with kidney problems worldwide?
Unlike blood donation, kidney donors will also undergo surgery with all its associated dangers. Besides, how many out of the 500 million people with kidney problems can afford the cost of transplant and post-surgery management? After the transplant, drugs must be taken for life to prevent the rejection of the transplanted organ. For instance as at 2004, Dr. Ebun Bamigboye, consultant nephrologist, St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos said out of 28,000 patients who needed qualitative treatment, less than 1000 could afford the cost.
In terms of actual technical capacity for kidney transplants, less than 100 have been done so far by three transplant centers in the country. According to Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe, St. Nicholas has done well over 60 kidney transplants, teaching hospital in Kano has record of more than 20 kidney transplants to its credit, while Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile Ife has also done a couple of kidney transplants. University College Hospital UCH, Ibadan “celebrated” its first kidney transplant in 2008, several decades after its establishment.
The fact that doctors have to remove kidney from healthy people to save patients with kidney problem at a mind boggling cost makes conventional treatment for kidney damage stupid, wicked and a mere rip-off. Otherwise, how much does a good kidney worth, if the doctors could value their skill to carry out dialysis, kidney transplant and administer drugs at N10million or above? Will the doctors pay God who created kidney commission on each kidney transplanted? Worse still, kidney transplant may not guarantee wellness for victims, because bacteria infection can undo it and make the entire process nullity.
In fact, the problem of infection from dreadful bacteria like staphylococcus aureus (Golden staph) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus VRE has been a source of great concern to many nephrologists worldwide. According to Professor David Johnson, a kidney specialist at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital, Australia, bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotic cream being used to prevent infections when applied to catheter sites in kidney dialysis patients.
Other side effects associated with dialysis and other treatment protocol for kidney failure, especially for male patients are impotence and diminished sex drive.
Given the mountain of hurdles to get orthodox treatment for kidney failure even with no guarantee for wellness, it is wise to protect one’s kidneys from damage.
Modern medicine is governed by economic and political factors, rather than love, which is the real basis of healing. While medical doctors are not likely to depart from this selfish and ruinous path, it is incumbent on the individual to seek diet education, which is emerging as the predictor of longevity. This is the only way to sound health without tearing your pockets, because if about 17 million Nigerians have kidney problems and less than 100 transplants have been done till date, we do not need soothsayer to know that conventional treatment can neither save the victims nor reduce high incidence of kidney diseases.
Besides, if only the likes of Bill Gates can afford treatment for terminal disease like kidney failure, man is endangered by his own knowledge – medical science
Author- Tunde Fabunmi, a Bee Conservationist and Diet Consultant, lives in Lagos.
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