Treatment options

• Dialysis
• Kidney transplantation

Types of Dialysis
Haemodialysis

Blood is pumped outside the body to an artificial kidney machine. The sophisticated machine cleanses the blood and returns it to the body. It involves visitng the hospital 2-3 times a week for four hour sessions each. This costs between Rs.13,000/- – Rs.15,000/- per month and some patients, however, may not tolerate haemodialysis and, hence may not have as optimal quality of life.

Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD):

In CAPD, a Catheter is implanted in the peritoneal cavity of the patient. The patient can dialysis himself 3-4 times a day. Assist devices help people with problems seeing or with problems wring their hands to do CAPD. The quality of life is better but it costs Rs.20,000/-per month. Neither haemodialysis nor peritoneal dialysis offers a cure. The patient deteriorates as soon as the treatment is stopped.

Renal Transplantation

Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of renal failure. Transplantation is the most “Natural” solution to kidneyfailure this is a more stable renal replacement therapy. This helps the younger people achieve full rehabilitation. Transplantation or kidney graft can be done from

• Living donors-family members make the closest tissue matches
• Cadaver – from people who have decided to donate their organs when they die

It costs about Rs. 4-5 lakhs. The annual cost of the life sustaining immunosuppressant drugs, which has to be taken after transplant,costs about Rs. 2 lakh. The results of a transplantation depend on the degree of tissue matching between the donor and the patient. Locating a donor with the best match may take time and in the interim period the patient has to be on dialysis.