PRESENTLY, 80,000 PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING FROM KIDNEY DISEASE IN CYPRUS
OVER 60% OF PEOPLE WITH KIDNEY PROBLEMS ARE UNAWARE, AND MANY WILL END UP ON DIALYSIS
THE PAPHOS KIDNEY ASSOCIATION has been supplying urgently needed medical equipment to the Paphos General Hospital Renal Unit for the past 21 years. We are proud to have instigated the construction of a new Renal Unit there, at a cost of €4.75 million and to have updated the existing unit to comply with EU standards. We are also supporting the new Paphos Dialysis Unit in St.George’s Hospital. They are expanding their existing unit and we wish to supply much of the ancillary equipment needed. Anybody on dialysis requires treatment of between 4-5 hours, three times a week, and without this treatment their life expectancy will be measured in days. We need funds to supply this equipment and ask that you donate towards this cause.
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PLEASE REMEMBER THE NEXT LIFE YOU SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN
40% of male patients with kidney disorder end up on dialysis before they are 70 years old – the rate amongst ex-patriots is also rising at an alarming rate. Renal disease is rampant and is becoming epidemic on a global scale.
The Renal Units in Paphos providing haemodialysis for kidney patient sufferers are available to people of any nationality, and we now find that an increasing number of non-Cypriots are also now using these dialysis facilities. With the age of patients getting younger, this treatment has to be carried out for the duration of the patients’ life and the Paphos Kidney Association wish to continue to aid these Units for as long as possible.
Most patients on dialysis attend their Renal Unit three times each week for a four-hour treatment. Dialysis machines clean out the patient’s blood and take out the toxins that build up in the body and artificially performs the same job that kidneys do, as well as regulating the potassium, phosphorus and electrolyte levels that are necessary for a relatively balanced life.
The Paphos Kidney Association is a registered charity, purchasing equipment directly from the suppliers and donating this equipment to the relevant Renal Units. Initially the Renal Unit in the General Hospital had insufficient basic equipment such as oxygen masks, blood pressure monitors and didn’t even have a “crash” trolley to deal with emergency situations. Originally we purchased this much needed equipment for these Renal Units and over the more recent years have donated necessary equipment ranging from specialised beds, ECG machines, specialised weighing machines and a state of the art portable scanner which at the time was the only piece of equipment of its kind in a Government Hospital in Cyprus. We have also supplied various essential items such as computers and office equipment for the medical team, as well as televisions for the patients to help relieve the boredom of their prolonged treatment.
After several years, we have raised sufficient funds to purchase our first state of the art Haemodiafiltration machine to present to the Paphos General Hospital Renal Unit, and shortly afterwards we were delighted to supply them with a second machine. These machines have the potential to reduce the mortality rate of patients on dialysis by an incredible 30%. This Renal Unit now has a full complement of these machines. Since that time, we have supplied even more updated machines and continue to do so to other Renal Units in Paphos.
