MKCG docs, staff raise funds for patient of kidney failure

Berhampur: In a noble gesture, several staff, including doctors of the department of anaesthesiology and critical care in the state-run MKCG Medical College and Hospital here, have extended monetary support to a 28-year-old patient suffering from advanced stage renal failure.The patient, who was working as a pharmacist engaged by an outsourcing agency on a minimal monthly salary in the medical college, is now undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar with haemodialysis every alternate day as he awaits renal transplantation. The total estimated cost of his treatment is around Rs 10 lakh, while the Rs 5 lakh under the govt’s Ayushman Yojana has already exhausted on his father’s treatment.Moreover, his 60-plus-year-old father, a farmer from Aska area in Ganjam district, also suffers from kidney ailments and undergoes regular dialysis. He is the sole bread-earner of his family, which includes his ailing father, mother and three sisters, two of whom are married.“After coming to know about his family’s condition and his end-stage renal disease, we have decided to extend a helping hand for his treatment,” said Jagdeep Nayak, assistant professor, department of anaesthesiology, who has taken the initiative to collect money from the staff of his department. “In a day, we collected Rs 1.63 lakh. The entire amount has been handed over to the patient,” he said.He said several doctors, junior doctors, nursing officers, pharmacists and others have voluntarily contributed towards his treatment. “The amount might be small, but this has helped him a lot while he needed much for his and his father’s treatment,” said Nayak. He has also appealed to others to extend monetary help to him for his treatment.The patient (who prefers anonymity) was getting his father treated at MKCG last year, when he was also diagnosed with kidney ailment himself. His disease worsened fast, prompting the need for regular dialysis.After completing all formalities and procedures, his mother has decided to donate one of her kidneys to save her son’s life. His kidney transplantation is likely to be held in the next or last week of this month, sources said. “I thank the staff of the department of anaesthesiology for contributing some amounts for my treatment,” he said.