The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) spends more than Sh3 billion on renal dialysis claims annually.
For the patients, the ideal solution to chronic kidney failure is an organ transplant, which takes them off the dialysis machine and back to a normal day-to-day existence.
Anti-rejection medicine is key to sustaining the donated kidneys, and it is therefore discouraging to see that the cost of these medications has shot up at the Kenyatta National Hospital, risking a return to dialysis for many who cannot afford the higher charges.
While the government has been proactive in funding dialysis, and the transplant process itself through the NHIF it remains a curious case of oversight why it has been reluctant to extend support to the purchase of the costly antirejection drugs.
The prospect of costly post-transplant care versus State-paid dialysis is one of the factors behind some people opting to remain on the machines even when they have a viable and willing organ donor.
We believe that it is now critical for the government to reconsider its stance on post-transplant care funding, for the benefit of patients and to ease the NHIF’s dialysis claims.
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