According to the president, he had a meeting with the Minister of Health the day before to discuss this issue.
“When I came to power, 2000 people were undergoing hemodialysis. Half of them paid for their treatment themselves, while the other half were funded by the state. Those who paid themselves were forced to work for their kidneys, for example, as taxi drivers. They contributed 100 dollars and received hemodialysis once a day, once a week, or every other day. We transferred all expenses to the state budget. Now hemodialysis is funded by the government, and the number of patients has increased to 4000. This means that 3.5-4 billion soms are spent from the budget,” the president noted.
He added that conditions for kidney transplants have been created in the Turkish hospital in Bishkek and other local medical institutions.
“Previously, thousands of citizens approached me asking for funds for kidney transplants; I had stacks of applications on my desk. I suggested organizing units for kidney transplants. Many said they had donors. We agreed to cover the costs, which amount to 7,500-8,000 dollars. We opened such units more than two years ago, but only 37 people have undergone the transplant procedure. Although many claimed that their relatives were ready to be donors, this did not happen. If they undergo a transplant and are discharged from the hospital, the costs for one patient amount to 15,000 dollars a year. We agreed to cover these expenses because this way we could save 15,000 dollars. If we paid 7,500-8,000-10,000 dollars and discharged the patient, the expenses would stop, but the number of those in need is only growing,” Sadyr Japarov added.
“There is a law that allows donation only from close relatives. Proposals are being made to expand the circle of individuals eligible to be donors. I suggested discussing this issue and coordinating it with the Ministry of Health and the deputies,” he concluded.
