Life-saving hospital donation
Kilimanjaro hiking challenge raises funds for vital dialysis treatment machines
HAVING kidney failure means you will spend a large part of your life on dialysis treatment. The donation of two haemodialysis machines to Groote Schuur Hospital, will hopefully improve the lives of more people living with kidney failure.
Ahead of World Kidney Day today, Nicholas Loxton said he and 10 students from UCT raised more than R500 000 to buy the machine.
The group hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro and raised R517 000, which they used to add two haemodialysis machines to Groote Schuur’s renal failure unit.
“We sent e-mails and it all paid off because we raised R517 000 that was used to buy two haemodialysis machines for Groote Schuur Hospital. We just placed an order for a specialised haemodialysis machine, as it allows us to treat more acute patients,” Loxton said.
“Patients are ranked on need and potential outcomes and only those that are most likely to benefit will get it.”
Loxton said they did a number of things to raise funds, like sending e-mails to corporates, and that was how they made most of the donations.
To prepare for the climb, the group did team hikes and individual strength training, as they had to prepare for hiking for up to six hours a day.
Amy Paterson said she had a personal connection to the cause because a young girl she once tutored died of kidney failure.
She said the conditions were not desirable, but the mission was all worth it.
“You can’t drink anything, you can’t really breathe properly,” she said. “But we were so focused on getting up there and remembering what we were doing it for.”
She said the girl died soon before they left for the climb last year.
“She would come for dialysis three times a week and I would tutor her in maths and as she got sicker, I realised it was more about… our friendship… I saw how dialysis gave her a few more years.”
Groote Schuur kidney specialist Dr Zunaid Banday said the machine was essential until a transplant was available. “Haemodialysis is when blood is taken from the patient through the machine and filtered back to the patient, and peritoneal dialysis can can be done at home.”
According to the Life Healthcare’s renal dialysis unit, chronic kidney disease affects approximately 195 million women across the world and is the eighth leading cause of death in women, with close to 600 000 women dying annually.
Julian Khazamula, the manager at Life Healthcare’s renal dialysis unit, said there was a need for more awareness.
“Our kidneys filter waste and excess fluids from the blood, which are then excreted in the urine. When someone’s kidneys are unable to perform this critical function they need intense renal replacement therapy, dialysis, or kidney replacement.”