The Kandy Kidney Protection Society needs your help
View(s):The Kandy Kidney Protection Society is once again in dire need of the generous assistance of the public as they continue their battle to provide treatment for kidney-related issues. Their biggest benefactors so far have been the readers of Vesak Lipi Digest, a leading Buddhist Digest published annually by Upali K. Salgado.
This year was sadly the last outing for the publication as Mr. Salgado, now an honorary life member of the Kandy Kidney Protection Society, retired from the scene after 35 fruitful years of service.
His legacy lives on through the Vesak Lipi Ward (Ward 69) at the Kandy General Hospital, a fully-equipped 15 bed kidney ward that cost Rs. 1.5 million rupees to build, which was funded solely through the benevolent donations made by the readership of Vesak Lipi. As a result of this, over 1,500 successful kidney transplants have been performed and 15 patients were able to receive dialysis treatment every day.
Due to the lack of government funding, the decision was made to convert this ward to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and the Kidney Unit team is desperately in need of standard medical equipment to get the ward up and running and to keep providing medical care, especially for the impoverished.
Necessary items include 15 adjustable patient beds, 6 adjustable electric beds, 6 syringe pumps, 6 patient monitors, 1 emergency cart, nurses station, and many more. The total cost for the full list of items comes to just under Rs. 6.5 million.
The increased influx of patients is due to the virulent kidney disease in the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Girandurukotte and Mahiyangana areas.
Mr. Salgado, in conjunction with Dr. W. G. A. Dissanayake (Senior Vice President of the KKPS), Dr. Tilak Abeysekera (Consultant Nephrologist) and the team at Kandy General Hospital, are appealing to the readers of Vesak Lipi Digest and members of the public to donate to this worthy cause.
Donations could be made by account payee cheque drawn in favour of ‘Kandy Kidney Protection Society’, posted to Upali K. Salgado, No. 45, 42nd Lane, Wellawatte.