Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

Kidney care centre to come up in city

By S. Rajendran

Bangalore June 27. The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, has said that the Government will set up a state-of-the-art kidney care facility in Bangalore. Support from leading organisations across the world will be sought for the project, if necessary.

When the facility is ready, Karnataka will be the first State to set up a super-speciality hospital for nephro-urology in the government sector. The only other facility of the kind is in the private sector near Ahmedabad in Gujarat.

The Government is providing kidney care at two major hospitals run by it — the Victoria Hospital and the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.

The effort now is to have a dedicated institute for nephro-urology along with satellite hospitals in all district headquarters. When the institute is established, patients and their families will not have to run from pillar to post for kidney donors or dialysis machines.

Mr. Krishna and G.K. Venkatesh, who is to be appointed Special Officer of the institute, told The Hindu here that the institute would be commissioned on November 1 (Rajyotsava Day).

The State Cabinet, thanks to the intervention of the Chief Minister, approved a special budgetary sanction of Rs. 5 crore for the institute and an additional Rs. 5 crore in the next Budget for providing ultra-modern facilities at the institute.

It was said that the institute would not be just another government venture.

While the Government would have overall supervision of its functioning, the institute would be a venture with private sector participation. Philanthropists would be requested to be part of the governing council of the institute, which was likely to have the Chief Minister as chairman.

Mr. Krishna said he was pained at the growing number of people with kidney ailments in the country, and decided that the State should take the lead in providing dialysis machines closer to their homes besides facilities for kidney transplants.

Treatment for kidney diseases had become more expensive than heart care. "We have set up the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology, which has been serving needy heart patients, and are now following suit with the institute for nephro-urology,'' he added.

The Chief Minister said the Government would give the initial thrust to setting up the institute. Thereafter, it would be for the people and the administrators of the institute to ensure that it functioned effectively. While rich patients would be charged, people below the poverty line would be given free treatment.

The Government would like to convey to kidney patients that it was not necessary for all of them to seek a kidney transplant, and that regular dialysis should enable them to lead a normal life. "The State Government is keen to put an end to the kidney sale racket," he added.

The racket first surfaced in Karnataka. Patients who came here seeking a quick transplant included those from the Gulf countries. While only cadaver transplant was permitted in most countries, it was only in India that conventional transplant was allowed, and some private hospitals offered transplants between unrelated persons obviously after deals were struck.

Dr. Venkatesh, who is tipped to be the first director of the institute, said the research facility would offer an opportunity for postgraduate studies. Experts in the field of nephrology and urology from leading institutions in the world would be invited to give guest lectures and provide training to doctors and consultants serving the institute.

The Chief Minister was keen that the institute should have video-conferencing facility through which doctors could consult experts on complicated surgeries.

The satellite hospitals in districts could derive benefit from such a facility.

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