JUNE 12, 2015

NR # 3861B

Treatment of Filipinos with end-stage renal disease pushed

A lawmaker has filed a resolution directing the Department of Health (DOH) to
adopt a measure that would treat Filipinos with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Rep. Rene L. Relampagos (1st District, Bohol), author of House Resolution 2115,
said under the proposed Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) First Policy for Filipinos with ESRD,
patients are given affordable, accessible, available and adequate treatment of their disease.
This will benefit especially those who cannot afford Hemodialysis (HD) given its
high cost and those who live in the far-flung communities who cannot go on a regular
basis to medical facilities, Relampagos said.
Not every patient is qualified to undergo PD. There are certain restrictions and
criteria that must be met in order for a patient to qualify for the program. A patient still
needs to undergo a thorough medical analysis to find out if PD is suitable for them,
Relampagos said.
Relampagos said it is imperative that patients suffering from end stage renal disease
be informed of the available and suitable treatment/s and be afforded the necessary
information to make an informed choice.
Relampagos said the cost of medical treatment for kidney disease is usually
exorbitant and beyond the reach of ordinary patients, while renal transplant is limited due
to the expense and the shortage of donors.
Unfortunately, treating kidney failure is a burden borne not only by the patient, but
by the entire family, Relampagos said.
The DOH and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) have identified
renal disease as one of the top ten causes of death among Filipinos today.
This means that one Filipino develops chronic renal failure every hour and P7,000
patients die annually due to kidney malfunction, Relampagos said.
The DOH reports showed that the number of Filipinos suffering from end stage
renal disease (ESRD), who are undergoing dialysis treatment and kidney transplant,
increases each year by 10 to 15 percent, from only 4,000 Filipinos in 2004 to 23,000 in
2013.
Relampagos said HD is the most common treatment for advanced kidney failure in
the Philippines. The procedure is performed in a hospital or a dialysis center two to three

times a week. The average cost for HD is P4,500 per session or P40,000 a month.
Under the PD treatment, the blood is filtered within the patients abdomen and the
dialysis fluid there is exchanged through a catheter. Special fluid enters the abdominal
cavity and stays there for several hours, and the poisons and excess fluid transfer from the
blood to the fluid, which is drained out of the body. This process is done daily, three to
four times a day. Patients are trained to perform this type of therapy by themselves at
home.
Relampagos said the average cost of HD per patient is more than double that of PD.
The cost difference is attributed mainly to the fact that PD incurs much lower costs for
health care personnel and specialized equipment such as dialysis machines.
Relampagos said the availability of HD centers in the country remains limited
because not all government hospitals are equipped with HD.
PD does not require specialized facilities and only requires training of doctors and
medical practitioners and information to patients on how to manage PD treatments, he
said.
Relampagos said in countries like Thailand, New Zealand, Korea, United Kingdom,
Hong Kong and Singapore, PD is being advocated as the first option for the treatment and
management of ESRD. (30) lvc