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  • Nigeria can save its children from kidney failure

    Nigeria can save its children from kidney failure

    By Ademola Anigilaje

    Several years ago, I met an eight-year-old boy I will call Tunde. Despite swollen legs and overwhelming fatigue, he arrived at our clinic full of life and dreams of becoming a pilot. He was suffering from end-stage kidney disease, meaning his kidneys were functioning at less than 15% of their capacity. They could no longer remove waste or regulate fluids—hence the swelling and exhaustion.

    At this advanced stage, the only options for survival are dialysis or a kidney transplant. Dialysis requires a machine to perform the functions of the kidney, typically demanding hospital visits at least three times per week. Transplantation involves receiving a kidney from a living or deceased donor. Unfortunately, deceased donor programmes do not yet exist in Nigeria.

    Tunde’s parents did everything imaginable. They sold their land, their car, and every valuable possession to start him on dialysis, clinging to the hope of a transplant. But dialysis in Nigeria costs approximately N35.24 million per year (about $23,000 USD), while a kidney transplant ranges from N34.47 million to N41.05 million ($22,500–$26,800 USD) for the surgery and initial medications, depending on whether it is performed in a public or private facility. Overseas, the expense is even greater. With the national minimum wage standing at N70,000 per month—roughly $46 USD—the numbers simply do not add up.

    When I had to tell Tunde’s parents that without a transplant their son would not survive, their faces fell. They looked at me and asked, “Doctor, can you help us?”

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    I could not. There was no government-supported programme in place. Not long after, Tunde passed away. He was only eight years old.

    I share his story because it is tragically common. Every year, between 300 and 600 Nigerian children are diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. For the majority, the diagnosis is effectively a death sentence.

    State of paediatric kidney transplantation in Nigeria

    Nigeria’s first paediatric kidney transplant took place in 2009 at St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos—nine years after the first adult transplant. Since then, perhaps only two centers—St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos and Zenith Medical & Kidney Centre in Abuja—have performed these procedures with any consistency. Other public and private hospitals have attempted transplants, but not regularly. The expertise exists, yet it remains severely underutilised.

    From 1986 to 2019, just 22 Nigerian children received kidney transplants. That averages to fewer than one child per year in a nation of over 200 million people.

    The situation is profoundly inequitable. Most children who receive transplants come from wealthy families. Boys are three times more likely to receive a transplant than girls. Many families travel abroad—mainly to India—for the procedure. For those without means, the choices are dire: bankrupt the family through unsustainable dialysis or watch the child die.

    Why transplantation is the best path forward

    Transplantation is not merely an alternative—it is the optimal solution. Although the initial expense of a transplant is high, the long-term costs drop significantly to maintenance immune-suppressants. Dialysis, by contrast, remains perpetually expensive and financially draining. A transplant offers children not just additional years of life, but a better quality of life. It allows them to attend school, grow, and pursue their dreams. Dialysis, even when accessible, ties children to machines and limits their potential.

    From a national perspective, transplantation is cost-effective. It protects families from medical poverty and preserves the contributions these children can make as future citizens. Investing in transplant programmes also strengthens Nigeria’s health system and reduces the foreign currency spent on overseas treatments.

    Why Nigeria has lagged behind

    Why do so few Nigerian children receive the transplants they need? A multicentre study conducted between 1986 and 2019 revealed that 72% of transplants were paid for out-of-pocket by families. State governments supported only three children during that period. Health insurance did not cover a single case. The National Health Insurance Scheme does not include kidney transplantation or long-term dialysis for children with end-stage kidney disease. There are too few transplant centres, a scarcity of equipment, and an uneven distribution of renal care services. There is a critical shortage of skilled transplant surgeons, nephrologists, and support teams, and they are concentrated mainly in large cities.

     Although the National Health Act of 2014 provides a legal foundation for organ donation, it requires further amendments. Currently, transplants rely entirely on living donors, which restrict supply and raises ethical questions.

    The way forward: Building a Nigeria Transplant Community

    The time has come for decisive action. Along with other paediatric nephrologists across the country, we are forming the Nigeria Transplant Community (NTC), an advocacy group uniting doctors, nurses, policymakers, civil society, religious leaders, and advocates with one common goal: to make paediatric kidney transplantation accessible to every Nigerian child.

    We are calling on professional health consultants to lead structured advocacy for transplant financing. Nigerian paediatric nephrologists have already taken steps forward: we have created a paediatric renal registry to inform policy and track outcomes, invested our own resources to gain expertise in transplantation science, and often used personal funds or organised crowdfunding to help poor children access dialysis and transplants. We have also carried the emotional weight of watching children die for lack of affordable care. Now, it is time for the government and society to step in.

    Our goals are clear: Establish transplant centres across all six geopolitical zones so that no child has to travel excessively for care; Designate children with end-stage kidney disease as a “vulnerable group” eligible for coverage under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund; ensure affordable immune-suppressants through pooled procurement, drug revolving funds, and eventually local generic production; Strengthen legal and policy frameworks to enable ethical, well-regulated organ donation, including future deceased-donor programmes; and Develop a specialised workforce of surgeons, nephrologists, nurses, and transplant coordinators through training and partnerships.

    The resources are available

    In 2022, Nigeria allocated just 4.4% of its national budget to health—well below the 15% committed to in the Abuja Declaration of 2001. However, the health sector received its highest-ever allocation of N1.17 trillion in 2023, followed by a further increase to N1.48 trillion in 2024. Though the percentage remains low, the trend is upward.

    The National Health Insurance Authority Act (2022) makes health insurance mandatory for all citizens. The Basic Health Care Provision Fund already sets aside money for vulnerable populations—we need only ensure that children with kidney failure are included.

    The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has successfully funded cancer and other high-cost treatments; it could extend that support to kidney transplant centres. International organisations such as the World Health Organization and the World Bank are also prepared to assist. In May 2025, for the first time, the WHO recognised kidney health as a priority. What is lacking is not funding, but political will.

    Yet there is reason for hope. Nigeria now has a president willing to make difficult decisions, having already expanded fiscal space by removing fuel subsidies and implementing tax reforms. President Bola Tinubu has shown commitment to the nation’s youth by introducing a student loan programme for university education. He also recently reduced the cost of a dialysis session to ₦12,000 (about $7.80 USD). While this gesture is appreciated, many Nigerians still cannot afford this amount. Like Oliver Twist, our children are asking for more—they need the government to fully cover the costs of dialysis and transplantation. Only then will we stop losing children to kidney failure.

    We are also encouraged by the leadership of Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, and his team, who have the vision and capacity to turn this around. Establishing functional, publicly funded renal transplant centres is now an achievable goal.

    The solutions are within reach. The policy frameworks exist. The pieces are scattered across legislation, donor agencies, and hospitals—our task is to assemble them.

    It is time for Nigeria to declare that no child with kidney failure will die due to poverty. It is time to create a publicly funded paediatric transplant programme that saves lives, restores hope, and protects our children’s futures. The question is not whether Nigeria can do this—but when we will choose to act.

    The answer must be: now.

    •Professor Anigilaje is a paediatric nephrologist & transplant specialist, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja. This article is adapted from a presentation delivered on 19th August 2025, at the sixth Biennial Scientific Conference and General Meeting of the Transplant Association of Nigeria, held in Ibadan.

  • ‘Managing kidney failure is expensive’

    It’s another World Kidney Day (March 14th), another opportunity to draw government attention to the plight of kidney patients. Omolara Akintoye writes about the travails of these people, opinion of a Nephrologist and how the disease can be prevented

    THE woke up that fateful morning and noticed swellings on her foot and face. Initially she thought it was a reaction to food but upon clinical advice by her doctor to run some tests, she discovered that she had, unknown to her, very high urea and creatinine values which had built up over the years. That was when it dawned on her that she had kidney failure, also known as renal failure. That was the story of Mrs. Abiola Ajayi who has been suffering from kidney failure for the past four years.

    Speaking in an interview, Ajayi (not real name), who is over 50 years, lamented that managing the disease can be very expensive and she has lost count of the money expended since she got diagnosed. “On the average, I spend a minimum of N60,000 for my weekly dialysis sessions and this is not inclusive of additional medications which I take for being hypertensive as well as other peripheral costs incurred on tests and injections which are done routinely to complement the dialysis, it has been an harrowing experience,” said Ajayi.

    Asides this, Ajayi is also facing the challenge of managing her business. “Although the dialysis centre I’m using gave me a flexible payment plan which aids my ability to continue with my dialysis and also to run my business,” she said.

    Ajayi is not left alone in this burden of managing this disease, her spouse, Mr. Kola Ajayi, says coping with the reality of managing the ailment of his wife has not been easy. His words: “It’s not been easy both emotionally and financially coupled with keeping late nights. Emotional instability has been the norm for me as I have to stay awake most nights whenever she has difficulty with sleeps as well as thinking of a way to raise the needed finds to sustain her dialysis sessions.”

    According to him, the disease has affected their finances drastically “because we have to sell off our properties, cars in order to raise funds for her dialysis.” Asked whether his wife intends going for transplant, he said: “no plan for transplant because after many consultations with nephrology specialists, we were advised not to opt for it due to the uncertainties accompanied with a transplant procedure, bearing in mind her age as well as the ordeals that come with a failed transplant.”

    Sufferers of renal failure are urging government to come to their aid by reducing custom charges on importation of drugs which have a ripple effect on the cost of dialysis.

    ‘Foamy urine, repeated headache and dizziness may be signs of kidney disease’

    In an interview with a Nephrologist, founder, Renal Dialysis Centre, Dr. John Okoh, he said government can reduce mortality rate among kidney patients by funding their dialysis session

    How could someone discover he is having kidney failure?

    Someone that has kidney disease that persists for greater than three months irrespective of what caused the disease is an indication that the person has kidney failure. However, renal failure is a more advance form of chronic kidney disease and once the kidney fails, it means the ability to clear waste is going to be impaired; meaning that if there are not clearing the waste, which is going to accumulate, it will make them ill. Apart from that, one of the functions of the kidney is to regulate the amount of water in the body. When you drink a lot of water, you have to urinate the water. If the kidney is having a problem in clearing the water, the water will accumulate and then you will see some people who have kidney disease, depending on what caused the disease. Some people will have swollen legs, swollen face, swollen hands.

    Another thing they can have is low blood level. One of the functions of the kidney is it plays an important role in helping to boost our blood system, so people who have kidney disease do have low blood level and become sick due to the low blood level. Some of them will even warrant blood transfusion and they will require blood medicine from time to time.

    Also patients with renal disease can have bone problem. One of the functions of the kidney is to help in producing something that will help the bone to be strong, so the moment they have kidney disease, the bone is no more strong. It’s liable to facture, so there is going to be a medication for the bone. People who have kidney disease will tend to have lower immunity, frequent infections, among others, as the kidney disease progresses.

    What are the major ailments associated with kidney disease?

    There are many ailments that are associated with kidney disease but for the sake of simplicity, we have hypertension. Worldwide, it is the major cause of kidney disease both here and in other parts of the world. Diabetes is another disease.  What it means is that the body fails to recognise itself and starts to fight itself; so the body is attacking itself and it attacks the kidney, kills the kidney and causes kidney failure. The list is endless. But another one is the one caused by drugs taken over the counter. Most of these over the counter drugs affect the kidney. People with HIV can also have renal failure. Kidney failure is no respecter of age as it can happen to anyone, but the good news is that it can be prevented. Once a person is growing older 20 years, we screen them and once the screening is positive we check the blood pressure maybe is high. We can monitor him, make sure we get a diagnosis of blood pressure. We commence treatment such that we try to prevent the onset of kidney disease.

    As an expert on the field, what is your experience with kidney patients?

    I’ve attended to so many patients with kidney failure and kidney failure comes in stages. There is stage one, stage two, stage three, stage four, stage five, but by five most of the patients come from stage four. Stages one, two, three are the early stages of kidney failure; stages four and five are the latter stages of kidney failure and because more of the patients come to the hospital when they are in stages four and five. But once we pick them at these stages what we do is we inform them about what they have and the aim now is we want to reduce the progression and manage them with medications. There is a particular stage we will tell them they will require dialysis, which is called renal replacement treatment. This is the end stage of kidney disease, when the treatment can be inform of dialysis or kidney transplant. When you undergo dialysis, you are connected to a machine. But when you get to stage five, such a person will be on dialysis for life.

    What is the prevalence of kidney disease in Nigeria?

    I won’t give you a figure but the number is on the rise.

    How do you know you have kidney disease?

    For those at home, check your urine. Once it is foamy, go for screening. If you have repeated headaches, weakness, tiredness and dizziness, go for screening.

    What is the cost of dialysis currently?

    The first session of dialysis in some facilities is between N50,000-N60,000

    I will advise that once the person reaches advance kidney disease stage he needs dialyses three times weekly. So three times a week means that if the person is going to pay 30,000 naira for continuous dialysis, that is 90,000 naira a week. So, in a month, that is 270000 naira just for dialysis; it’s very expensive.

    Prevention of renal failure

    Reduce your salt intake, condiments, spices etc, avoid sugary foods and drinks. Take more of healthy foods, avoid alcohol, smoking and over the counter drugs.

    What can government do to reduce mortality rate among kidney patients?

    I have travelled out of the country several times and they have health insurance scheme. Government takes care of patients who are on dialysis by subsidising their dialyses. In Lagos, there are many dialysis centres in Lagos and people pay from their pockets. It’s not easy to maintain the cost of dialysis, so what I try to do is to keep my patients healthy and enable them to work so that they can finance their dialysis. For those who that cannot work, family and friends will donate for them and when it gets to a point the family will get tired and the patient will die, so government’s assistance will indeed be helpful to reduce death.

  • Dariye down with ‘kidney failure’

    Former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye is down with kidney failure, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    Dariye is hospitalised at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.

    Dariye was sent to a 14-year jail term (later reduced to 10 years) by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court presided over by Justice Adebukola Banjoko on a 23-count charge of diverting and laundering of N1.126 billion Ecological Funds belonging to the Plateau State Government while in office as the governor.

    The senator, who has been serving time in Kuje prison in Abuja, has been in the hospital since last December.

    According to a government source, who pleaded not to be named, Dariye needs prayers.

    The source said: “I have gone to see him. He is having serious health challenges. From my finding and from the doctor, his aliment is kidney failure and it is critical.”

    The Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), FCT Command Public Relations Officer (PRO), Chukwuedo Humphrey, confirmed that Dariye is hospitalized, but he declined to state his ailment.

    He said the Service had been managing his illness since last October.

    Humphrey said: “I will not mention the name of the illness to you and the hospital where he is. Normally people whose health we can’t manage we refer outside for proper medical attention. We have been managing his illness since October/November.”

    Asked when Dariye will be discharged, the NPS spokesman said: “It is the doctor who knows when he can be discharged. We have now limited the number of people visiting him at the hospital. We are just allowing his wife, close family and friends, and law enforcement personnel. Tight security is around him just as if he is in the prison cell.”

    “His wife is always allowed around him. And she is always full of praises to the NPS for the proper medical attention. And his court hearings are ongoing, he does not need to appear in court. His lawyers are there to defend him.

    “Because of his health challenge, he opted for self-feeding. Because we cannot be cooking any special food for him. His family brings food for him.”

    The NPS has written to the hospital on when Dariye can be discharged and they replied that Dariye is still undergoing series of checks and until they are through with the process and satisfied that he is fit before they can reply the NPS.”

    It was also revealed that family members are worried about the Dariye’s condition.

  • I’m dying please help, says man diagnosed with kidney failure

    A 38-year-old man, Kayode Benjamin Onabanjo, who hails from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, says he is dying of kidney failure.

    The father of one was in April diagnosed with stage 5 chronic kidney disease, secondary chronic glomerulonephritis and had begun maintenance haemodialysis.

    According to him, his medical report stated that he needed a kidney transplant.

    Onabanjo will need N150,000 per week to undergo maintenance haemodialysis.

    He said: “I was an employee of Ero Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd in Mowe, Ogun State until my health condition worsened and I could no longer cope with the job.

    “I sold my house, car and land to take care of my health, but it is still deteriorating. I ‘m dying, please help me.

    “My family, relations and friends have tried to keep me alive, but the money I need is too much. I implore Nigerians at home and abroad, government, non-government organisations, philanthropists and corporate bodies to help me.”

    Read also: Boy with kidney failure needs N13m for transplant

    Onabanjo, who read Town and Regional Planning at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, could not hold his tears, as the pains of the disease were severe.

    He has been given quit notice at his 3, Tayo Kehinde Street, Egbeda, Lagos, home because of indebtedness.

    His wife, Odunayo, said she had sold everything she had, including the little container shop she used to store her goods.

    “I don’t have anything again. Our seven- year-old daughter, Treasure, will soon be sent out of school if we don’t pay the next fee,” she said.

    Onabanjo’s next appointment at the Alimosho General Hospital, Igando, Lagos and at a private hospital in Ikeja will not hold this week if he cannot pay the bills. His condition needs urgent medical attention.

    Readers can donate to save him through his UBA account: Onabanjo Benjamin Kayode, 2044946052 (savings); or through his wife’s Access Bank account: Onabanjo Odunayo Olanike 0689746448 (savings).

     

  • Boy with kidney failure needs N13m for transplant

    While other kids head for school every morning, enthusiastic about the long day ahead, Uwais Usman, a 15-year-old boy, lies on his hospital bed, writhing in severe pain and agony, wishing he had functioning kidneys to enable him go to school.

    He was 15 on October 1, but it gripped his mother’s heart that his birthday was with severe pain and agony, and blurry hope, as she continues to source for money to pay for his kidney transplant.

    For close to five months, Uwais has been in IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna, Niger State, battling kidney failure. Although one of them failed sometime in 2016, and later picked up; both kidneys have now failed and his health is deteriorating.

    “His condition is very critical and severe,” his mother, Hajiya Halima, said on phone with a trembling voice, full of worries and uncertainties. “When he started, it was way better than this. But now he is always lying down…too much fatigue; too much weakening,” she said.

    She explained that she was informed at the Bennett Medical and Kidney Center, Abuja, where Uwais was first admitted, that the boy needs a kidney transplant to replace the malfunctioning ones.

    “According to the doctor, the transplant costs about N8.5 million if carried out in Abuja, and about N13.5 million if performed in India, which is far better,” she said.

    Asked how much she has been able to realise so far, Hajiya Halima with utmost sadness,  replied: “Four hundred thousand Naira…for all this while that we’ve been sending messages and appealing on social media. Yet, we spend nothing less than N87,000 weekly on just dialysis and injections.

    “We had to move down to Minna because we thought the Niger State Government would help. But we haven’t got a good response from them. We have pleaded and pleaded with the Ministry of Health, they keep saying there is nothing they can do. I just don’t know whether the government will help us, but it is just not working out yet,” she said.

    A couple of weeks ago, Uwais lost his right eye to this deadly ailment, after having suffered severe eye pain as a result of high blood pressure.

    “For about two weeks now,” his mother recounted, “when he looks at you, you might think he is seeing you, but he is not. His right eye is gone. And even his left eye cannot withstand light for long. Whenever light penetrates into the left eye, it enters into the right, and then he starts screaming. Most times, I tie black cloth around his face to cover his eyes. I am afraid that he might soon lose his left eye too.”

    While appealing to members of the public for help, Hajiya Halima said an account was opened for Uwais in Fidelity Bank, with the account number 6150980918 (Uways Usman A.).

  • Boy with kidney failure needs N13m for transplant

    While other kids head for school every morning enthusiastic about the long day ahead, Uwais Usman, a fourteen-year-old boy, lies in his hospital bed, writhing in severe pain and agony, wishing he had functioning kidneys to enable him go to school like other kids.

    He will be fifteen on October 1, but the fear of celebrating his birthday posthumously grips his mother’s heart, as she struggles to get money for his transplant.

    For close to five months, Uwais has been in IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna, Niger State, battling failure of both kidneys. Although one of the kidneys had once failed sometime in 2016, which later picked; both kidneys have now failed, and his health condition has since been deteriorating.

    “His condition is very critical and severe,” his mother, Hajiya Halima, told THE NATION on phone, her voice trembling, studded with worries and uncertainties. “When he started, it was way better than this. But now he is always lying down…too much fatigue; too much weakening,” she said.

    She explained that she was informed at Bennett Medical and Kidney Center, Abuja, where Uwais was first admitted, that the boy needs a kidney transplant to replace the malfunctioning ones.

    “According to the doctor,” she said, “the transplant costs about N8.5 M if carried out in Abuja, and about N13.5M if performed in India–which is way better.”

    Asked how much she has been able to realize so far, with utmost sadness, Hajiya Halima replied: “four hundred thousand Naira…for all these while that we’ve been sending messages and appealing on social media. Yet, we spend nothing less than N87,000 weekly on just dialysis and injections.

    “We had to move down to Minna because we thought the Niger State Government would help. But we haven’t gotten a good response from them. We have pleaded and pleaded with the Ministry of health, they keep saying there is nothing they can do. I just don’t know whether the government will help us, but it is just not working out yet,” she said.

    A couple of weeks ago, Uwais lost his right eye to this deadly ailment, after having suffered severe eye pain as a result of high blood pressure.

    “For about two weeks now,” his mother recounted, “when he looks at you, you might think he is seeing you, but he is not. His right eye is gone. And even his left eye cannot withstand light for long. Whenever light penetrates into the left eye, it enters into the right, and then he starts screaming. Most times, I tie black cloth around his face to cover his eyes.

    “I am afraid that he might soon lose his left eye too,” she added.

    While appealing to members of the general public for help, Hajiya Halima said an account was opened for Uwais in Fidelity Bank, with the account number 6150980918 (Uways Usman A.).

  • Law school student down with kidney failure, needs transplant

    Law school student down with kidney failure, needs transplant

    When the admission list for the Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus was recently released, one of the students admitted was Adedoyin Oluwaseyi Otufodunrin, a graduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State.

    Weeks after resuming with his classmates, Seyi is unable to continue lectures for health reasons. He has been battling a kidney-related illness (Chronic Kidney Renal Failure), which has become very critical and requiring an urgent transplant for him to remain alive.

    For months, he has been on weekly dialysis session that has cost family members a fortune with his only hope of surviving the deadly disease solely dependent finding a compatible Kidney donor and not less than N8m for surgery in India.

    “Getting admitted into the Law School is a dream come true for me but here I am now down with this debilitating condition that wants to stop me,” Seyi who looks very emaciated said as he struggled to express his thoughts.

    “I need all the support I can get now from Individuals, organisations and the government to get this required transplant done and still accomplish my dream.

    “My family members, friends and many others have made a lot of sacrifice to keep me alive this long but the fund needed now is so much and time is running out. Please help me before it is too late,” he stated.

    According to doctors who have been attending to Seyi, the average cost of getting the transplant done in India is N8m, which does not include the cost of getting a donor in case he doesn’t get a compatible family member donor, flight and accommodation.

    “My situation is very desperate. I am trying to stay strong but I am getting weaker every day. I’m however trusting God to touch the heart of Nigerians who may get to read my story to give me the lifeline I need.

    “I have been on dialysis, which cost an average of N100, 000 per week at Dialyzer Medical Centre, Oshodi, Lagos State. Sometimes I am unable to go for dialysis due to lack of money to pay, which has been complicating my condition. I want to live, I want to be a notable lawyer, that is my dream. God bless you abundantly as you assist.

    For your assistance, kindly make use of the following accounts:

    Otufodunrin Oluwaseyi: 0041164595 (Diamond Bank)

    For direct contact, call: Seyi on 07030421664, Tutu on 08027128048 or Lekan on 08023000621

  • Kidney failure: Medical student seeks help

    Kidney failure: Medical student seeks help

    A THIRD year medical student, Olaoluwa Oluwamuyiwa, (Dr Lulu) who is down with renal failure has appealed to Nigerians to help save his life.

    Born on February 16, 1988, 28-year old Oluwamuyiwa hails from Ondo State from a small family of four, comprising his parents, himself and his younger sister.

    Dr Lulu, as he is fondly called, began to experience difficulties in pursuit of his childhood dream to become a medical doctor in the year 2000 when his father lost his job. Shortly after, he had a ghastly accident that made him unconscious for several months. Since then, he has been unable to fully use his legs.

    Undeterred by the challenge, Dr Lulu travelled to Ukraine to study medicine, but had to abandon the study owing to financial difficulty and come back to Nigeria.

    Not one to give up on his dream, he soon packed his baggage and headed for China to study medicine again. He is currently in his third year.

    However, Dr Lulu now faces a major life challenge as he is suffering from renal failure. He is currently undergoing dialysis pending the time he will be able to raise the N7m required for a kidney transplant.

    His family is appealing for assistance from good spirited Nigerians and corporate organisations to help raise the funds. He undergoes three dialysis sessions every week at the cost of N60,000, with his friends and family helping him run around to raise the fees.

    You can help keep Dr Lulu alive by donating to OLUWAMUYIWA OLAOLUWA OYINDE’s account no. 0108134961 at GUARANTEE TRUST BANK.

    Enquiries can also be made via telephone numbers 08177356420 (OLAOLUWA) or 08036607719 and 08029140079 (Dr Lulu’s father).

  • Self-medication, major cause of kidney failure

    Self-medication, major cause of kidney failure

    James Senbanjo, who has midwifed kidney treatment and other life-threatening diseases for Nigerians at home and abroad through his Tunadel Medical Tours, speaks on the prevalence of kidney diseases in Nigeria and his organisation’s activities. He spoke to Gboyega Alaka.

    Tell us, what exactly is medical tourism?

    When we talk about medical tourism, it is when one gets treatment outside one’s place of residence. In Nigeria, we have challenges in our health sector, which are basically infrastructural. There are many medical personnel here who are well trained, but the instrument to work and exposure is not there. So I discovered that there are lots of Nigerians who have health issues and go online to look for hospitals outside the country that can assist them. But 80 to 90 per cent of them fall into wrong hands. The last time I was in India, I saw loads of Nigerians on the streets of India slaving to survive. They had gone over for treatment, but Indians have a way of – I won’t say deceiving you, but of not been totally forthcoming to you with all the facts. They may just tell you “OK you have a kidney problem, this is how much it’s going to cost you.” And then you plan with that amount, but on getting there you may find out that you need to spend extra money, and in the end, you find yourself roaming the streets, seeking help. Having worked with the Indians for years and I therefore thought I could come in and take up the burden. I’ll look for the best hospital for you, get you the best doctors, and even when necessary, set patients up on Skype with the person who’ll operate on them, so they can ask questions. They will tell you how much it will cost you and when you get there, you will pay exactly the same amount. We also make arrangement for the patients by meeting them at the airport and guiding them through to their hotel and hospital.

    How long have you been into this?

    I started Tunadel Medical Tourism Limited two years ago. But before then, I had been involved through Jawa, a pharmaceutical company in Isolo, Lagos, where I was regional business manager for Lagos. The organisation’s medical tourism arm, Jawa Saphera Medical Services, was directly under me for years; so that experience spurred me to set up. I read Industrial chemistry, I have a Masters in Public Health, and another in Managerial Psychology from the University of Lagos and an MBA from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. I’ve been in pharmaceuticals business for like 15 years.

    What actually spurred you into starting your own organisation?

    There were some things that I saw that I felt weren’t really encouraging. I also thought holding a medical camp here in Nigeria to avail those who can’t afford to travel the same quality of treatment in the country would be a great idea. So part of what we have done is bring in medical expatriates to take a look at the patients and treat them here, but if it is something they cannot handle, they then recommend for them to go to India. The last medical camp that we convened took place in Ibadan. We had about 250 patients and out of this number, about 45 per cent had renal failure. And like you may well know, our success rate for kidney transplants is very low, whereas India has a high success rate, having developed so much medically.  Last year, LASUTH did its first kidney transplant and it was successful, but people are still scared because they don’t want to be used as sample or specimen.

    How successful were the medical camps?

    So far, we’ve held two medical camps in Lagos and one in Ibadan. The first in Lagos had about 65 patients in attendance, out of which eight inevitably had to go to India, while others were put on just medication. Aside kidney, another major medical condition in hot demand was hip replacement.

    From your experience on the job, why do you think we have a lot of renal cases in Nigeria?

    The first reason is that a lot of us here do self-medication. At the medical camp we held in Ibadan, we found out that out of over 200 people, about 45 per cent had kidney diseases. Even teenagers had these kidney problems; and when we asked questions, we discovered that indiscriminate use of analgesics is the first cause. Somebody is having the slightest headache and the next thing is paracetamol, panadol or ibufen; and all these things go through the liver and the kidney and when you overwork the kidney, the kidney will go down. It is in this part of the world that somebody will tell you that two tablets of paracetamol do not work on his body, except he takes three or four. As good as paracetamol is, it can also be a poison.

    The same goes for agbo (local herbs) that we take. All these things can be toxic depending on how you use them. I’m not saying herbs are bad, but we don’t know the quantity that the body needs. In India they eat herbs, but they know the quantity; they know what they need to take at every point in time. Another thing is uncontrollable hypertension or high blood pressure.  When somebody has hypertension here, they go and see a cardiologist, and the next thing they’re given drugs, which lengthy use may ultimately affect the kidney. Again, when you’re taking pain relievers for a longer period, you kill your kidney. If you’re taking a pain reliever for thirty days, you should also be given some drugs as adjunct like anti-ulcer, so that the kidney will not be overworked.

    What is it about India that makes it a destination for medical issues?

    In India, their population has really helped them in that cost of labour is very cheap. So also the cost of living; but one thing they’ve got going for them is a well-developed health sector. And that’s because their government created an enabling environment for them and their doctors after training anywhere in the world, go back home to practice and contribute to the development of that sector. Compared to other parts of the world, the cost of treatment is also very cheap. I have a patient who lives in the UK but had to come to Nigeria to obtain an Indian visa to go to India for treatment. When I asked him why not in UK? He said, ‘No, I can’t’, apparently referring to the cost of the same treatment there. That is why you see Indian entrepreneurs come here and pay ridiculous salaries; they try to compare it with what people earn back home.

    What is the most memorable case you have handled?

    There are several, but one case that comes to mind is that of a 56 year-old man who had a spine problem and could barely walk a short distance without complaining of pain and fatigue. He came to one of our medical camps and the doctor took a look at him and told him he had to go to India. He went and three weeks after the surgery, he was completely different, healthy and fit. There is also the case of an 84 year-old woman, who couldn’t walk because she had knee problem. Ordinarily most women from the age of 60 and above do have problems with their knees, especially the fat ones, because of their weight. We call the treatment bi-lateral knee replacement. I discussed the matter with our orthopaedic surgeon, a professor, and he was like, ‘We did it for a 90 year-old back in India, let her come.’ Now she’s back in Nigeria fully fit.

    How fulfilled are you doing medical tourism?

    Very fulfilled. I’m seeing the patients and I’m sharing their pain. I’m happy seeing these women come back healthy and happy. There was the case of a woman who had ovarian cancer. It was initially thought to be fibroid. She underwent treatment in December and by February 12; she was back in Nigeria healed and happy. She told me that the amount of water taken out of her tummy was up to 100kg. I went to visit her at Christmas in India and I must say having a hand in such process gives me fulfilment.

  • Kidney failure threatens man’s life

    A 38-year-old man, who is down  with kidney problem, is looking for N8million to treat himself. Bernard Owoicho’s trouble began on December 10, last year, after he took an analgesic drug for his headache.

    He left for work after taking the drug, but 10 days later, his condition worsened.

    He experiencedstomach pains and started stooling blood.

    Thinking it was pile, Owoicho administered some drugs, to no avail. Suspecting poisoning, his relations advised him to take native herbs; he did, but his trouble would not go. Unknown to him, his kidney had failed.

    “Initially, I thought it was pile and some close relations advised me to take some herbs which I did, but I didn’t get any result. I later went to a hospital where I was given some drugs which doctors said would stop the stool; yet, it did not work,” he said.

    Owoicho, 38, a father of two from Otukpa in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State, was moved from one hospital to the other in Lagos by his wife and relations in desperate bid to find out what the problem was, but all their efforts failed.

    Family members in Abuja took him there for better medical attention. He spent a month at the Abuja University Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, and later, the National Hospital, Central Area, Abuja, where he was told that his two kidneys had failed.  He has since been undergoing dialysis and other treatments at the hospital.

    Owoicho, who is a chorister at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Ojota, lived with his wife and two children at 80, Alhaja Amoo Street before his illness started. He also worked at the Nigerian Ball-Point Pen Industries Plc, Ikeja.

    Owoicho is appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to come to his aid for him to live well again. “I don’t know how to say this, but I beg good-spirited Nigerians not to allow me die. I do not know how I got to this point, but only God can heal. I have spent over N800, 000 already and still spending,” he said, sobbing at the hospital on Tuesday.

    “I need to go for kidney transplant in India. The trip, including the transplant, according to a medical advice, would cost N8 million. I believe God will use my fellow countrymen to make it happen,” he added.

    Owoicho gave his bank accounts’ details as: Access Bank; account number, 0065186699 and First Bank, with account number, 2021113439.