A ray of hope for kidney patients

We plan to purchase four acres of land within a mile's distance from the current centre. Hopefully, we will be able to set up the hospital within two years.

— Dr Towhid Hossain

Md Shahajahan, a 23-year-old resident of Begumganj upazila in Noakhali, was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2017. Following a thorough examination, doctors advised him to start dialysis treatment.

In 2018, he began his dialysis treatment, initially at a local hospital. However, to cover the expenses, he had to sell all the property he inherited from his father, leaving only his house.

In 2020, Shahajahan moved to Dhaka and began receiving dialysis services from the National Institute of Kidney Diseases & Urology (NIKDU). He requires two dialysis sessions per week, each of which costs Tk 2,900.

His monthly cost for dialysis, including the expenses for medication, amounts to at least Tk 50,000. Despite his financial difficulties, he continued with his dialysis treatment until the end of 2021. However, at the beginning of 2022, he contemplated discontinuing the treatment due to financial strain.

Later, he came in contact with Prof Dr Towhid Hossain, a retired professor from the National Institute of Kidney Diseases & Urology, who has been providing free dialysis services to underprivileged patients for the last one and a half years.

"I told Towhid Sir everything. He managed free dialysis services for me. Since then, I'm getting free dialysis treatment and now I'm doing good," Shahajahan shared with The Daily Star.

Thirty-year-old Kamrul Islam has also been availing of free dialysis services from Prof Towhid for the past eight months.

Photo: Star

Kamrul and his wife Sharmin Akhter moved to Dhaka from Bhola after learning about Prof Towhid's services. Since then, Kamrul has been receiving free dialysis. The couple was also provided with free accommodation in Dhaka.

Expressing her gratitude, Sharmin said, "If Prof Towhid did not help us, my husband's treatment might have stopped."

Around 113 underprivileged dialysis patients are receiving completely free dialysis services from Prof Towhid, who is currently a doctor at North Bengal Hospital in Sirajganj.

To cater to the demands of the growing number of underprivileged dialysis patients and to establish the service as an institutional form, Prof Towhid, with the support of the Center for Zakat Management (CZM), launched a kidney dialysis and transplant centre at the beginning of this month.

The newly-launched kidney dialysis and transplant centre, situated at Hazratpur in Dhaka's Keraniganj, is a two-storey building that houses eight modern dialysis machines capable of providing services to 60 patients.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, former advisor to a caretaker government and advisor to CZM advisory board, inaugurated the centre as the chief guest yesterday.

Although the centre can provide dialysis services to 60 patients, they are currently operating at half its capacity, as they only have 30 donors as of yet.

"This is the only institution in the country that provides completely free dialysis services to patients, with no ticketing costs," Prof Towhid said.

The centre also offers free medical examinations and medications, he mentioned.

Prof Towhid also shared his vision to establish a modern hospital dedicated to kidney dialysis and transplantation with a capacity of 1,000 patients.

"We plan to purchase four acres of land within a mile's distance from the current centre. Hopefully, we will be able to set up the hospital within two years," he added.