Main Focus and Goals
Renal failure and kidney failure is one of the major disease that is impacting every part of the society (irrespective of they are upper class or middle class) and is going to be much bigger problem in the near future. Renal health care is unaffordable to many poor patients. It is estimated that around two hundred thousand (200000) new patients are added each year in India to the growing list of patients and Rs. 200000/- is the annual expenditure for a dialysis patient (normal cost – not subsidized).
Add to this, end Stage Renal Failure (Chronic Kidney Disease) lasts endlessly. All these hard facts have compelled Arpana to focus mainly on serving the cause of poor, needy and deserving CKD patients. Arpana launched a program on July 19th 2009 to extend financial assistance for dialysis for poor and needy kidney patients.
Since then, Arpana is sponsoring dialysis for poor and needy patients every month by having tie-up with Ranga Dore Memorial Hospital. Ranga Dore Memorial Hospital is one of the few hospitals in Karnataka that is providing dialysis and other kidney related treatments at very subsidized cost. Arpana is doing its little service by sponsoring dialysis for few poor patients every month. This is entirely done by voluntary contribution made by whole hearted people.
However, this effort is not enough to meet the growing shortage – be it number of dialysis machines or hospitals that provide dialysis at subsidized cost. Arpana has drawn few ambitious plans to bridge this gap. Arpana is planning to donate dialysis machines to the hospitals that provide dialysis at a subsidized cost in order to address the supply side constraints as far as dialysis machines are concerned.
Karnataka state has very few hospitals in cities other than Bangalore that provide dialysis at a reasonable cost. Patients travel all the way from places like Bellary, Gulbarga, etc to get dialysis treatment – that too weekly twice or so. In order to overcome this problem, Arpana is planning to have tie-up and collaborative arrangements with more low cost dialysis centers at all district head quarters in Karnataka.
As we all know, dialysis is an interim solution to keep the system working. Kidney transplantation is a better treatment to CKD. Karnataka government does not allow kidney transplantation. Arpana is partnering with various NGOs, voluntary organizations to educate and influence Government of Karnataka to lift this ban and enable suffering patients to get better treatment to this painful disease.
These huge tasks can be served to some extent with the help, co-operation of Government, NGOs and other voluntary organizations that are working in this field. However, it would need a big support from people like you. Join hands with Arpana and be part of this noble cause. Now, the time has come in our life to reciprocate our gratitude to the society.