A foundation that provides free dialysis is also providing free transport for patients during the lockdowns.
The Bangalore Kidney Foundation (BKF), Shankarapuram, Basavangudi, is well-known for its work in making renal care accessible.
Housed on three floors, the foundation has 85 dialysis machines. Gurunath N, trustee, says the centre treats around 250 patients. “We do around 120 dialysis sessions a day,” he told Metrolife. The lockdowns presented new problems, and patients and staff had to be picked up and dropped back. “We run on donations and though the pandemic posed financial difficulties, we have been able to manage,” he says.
Many patients are daily-wage earners. “Almost a third of our dialysis sessions are done for free. For others, we charge Rs 750 a session,” he says.
Meal packets are given to patients when they arrive for dialysis, and an agency helps with low-cost tests.
Every year, the foundation hosts ‘Dhwani’, a Hindustani classical music concert, and organises a walkathon. The events are on hold because of the pandemic. “Some of our older machines are reconditioned and donated to places like Chamarajanagar and Kolar,” adds Gurunath.
* To donate or volunteer, call (080) 26614 848 and 2954 4848 or log on to www.bkfindia.in.
42 years and running
The Bangalore Kidney Foundation was started in 1979 by Sriram P and five friends. There were no institutes in the city for kidney patients back then, he says. “In 1977, we wanted to help a colleague and scientist from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who had slipped into a coma. We took him to CMC Vellore where he was diagnosed with renal failure, after which he was treated in Mumbai. That is when we realised how facilities for nephrology were not available in Karnataka,” recalls Sriram. The foundation imported machines from the USA and started offering dialysis. “We now do 30,000-34,000 dialysis sessions a year,” Sriram says.
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