Kidney diseases becoming rampant in Ghana - Dr. Awuku

The Physician Specialist at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital Dialysis Centre, Dr. Yaw Asante Awuku has expressed worry that kidney disease was becoming alarming in the country with one out of every ten patients being diagnosed with the disease.

He noted that Kidney infection was among one of the killer-diseases in the world and it is time the public is sensitized about its causes, to help its prevention as it was very expensive to manage.

Dr. Awuku expressed these sentiments on Wednesday when the outgoing Central Regional Minister, Dr. Samuel Sarpong, paid a visit to a TV3 correspondent, Thomas Vincent Cann who is suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and on admission at the Hospital.

Dr. Sarpong presented an undisclosed amount of money on behalf of the Central Regional Coordinating Council to him to aid his dialysis treatment and encouraged him not to worry since the best medical Doctors in the region were handling him.

Dr. Awuku mentioned prolonged and untreated sore throat infection as one of the causes of the disease and warned the public not to treat sore throat by themselves but take it seriously and report at the hospital for early detection and treatment by qualified personnel.

Other causes he mentioned were the prolonged use of unprescribed painkillers, uncontrolled blood pressure and the abuse of alcohol. He also warned the public to stay away from alcohol.

He said dialysis was the first option when one was diagnosed with the disease because the excessive waste built in the blood due to the malfunctioning of the kidney causes weakness of the immune system leading to kidney failure.

Dialysis is the process of removing toxic or waste materials or substances from the kidney through the use of dialysis machines. Additionally, the dialysis machine performs some of the functions of the kidney.

Dr. Daniel Asare, Director of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital appealed to the Government to set up a special Fund to assist patients with the problem since the National Health Insurance Scheme does not cover its treatment.

He said some people are dying from this disease not because they cannot be treated but due to lack of fund and assistance.

It costs 150 Ghana Cedis per session for dialysis and a patient may require three sessions in a week aside cost of medication and other consumables.

He said if these special funds are set up and all citizens help to sustain it, it can help save precious lives.

Thomas Cann who has an end state renal diseases and is currently on dialysis pending funding from philanthropists and charitable organizations to enable him undergo a surgery for a kidney transplant and needed an amount of GH¢25,000.00 and a donor.

He thanked the Minister for his kind gesture and appealed for more support from all and sundry.