Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital starts dialysis facility for children with kidney disease, aims to give them ‘new lease of life’

Children with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease coming to Safdarjung Hospital were usually referred to other hospitals. Despite that, the department has been witnessing at least two or three patients needing peritoneal dialysis (a treatment for kidney failure that uses the lining of abdomen, or belly, to filter blood) daily because of acute kidney failure.

Medical Superintendent Dr B L Sherwal launched the facility and said it would help children with kidney failure.“Kidney disease is not uncommon in children. Several deaths happen because of acute kidney failure, many of which are treatable. Chronic kidney failure accounts for around 10 per cent of all outpatient attendance which makes a large number, and most of them require hemodialysis in the period awaiting a kidney transplant,” said Dr Sherwal, adding that there is a large gap between demand and available services, he added.

The hospital caters to young patients from Delhi and remote areas of surrounding states. “The facility will give them a new lease of life,” Dr Sherwal said.

Safdarjung Hospital started a state-of-the-art haemodialysis unit in its super-speciality block in February. It also announced it would run a daily nephrology outpatient department and extended dialysis timings to 8 pm.