NGO sets up 62 subsidised dialysis units in Mumbai ……..Rajiv Sharma I TNN
Mumbai: With the idea of providing affordable dialysis to patients suffering from kidney failure, a city-based NGO has set up 62 such units across Mumbai. Patients can pay Rs 100 for a dialysis here instead of over 10 times the figure charged at various private hospitals.
According to Nirup Kothari, trustee of the Neminath Jain Foundation, the idea of setting up affordable dialysis centres came up when he met a patient suffering from kidney disease. We realised how serious the issue was and set up the first such unit at Suchak Hospital in Malad (E), he said. To cushion the economic blow of repeated dialysis sessionsthree times a week for some patientsthe NGO started providing the procedure at a cost of Rs 100 per session. The rest of the cost is subsidised by the foundation, he said.
At present, 665 patients undergo dialysis at the foundations 62 units. Some centres are set up in municipal hospitals such as Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon (W) and V N Desai Hospital in Santa Cruz (E). Centres are also located at Kambal Darbar in Kandivli (W) and Somaiyya Hospital in Sion.