The HEALTH : August 2018 | Page 11

AUGUST, 2018 | The HEALTH

week discharged her.

Alas, she had recovered with dialysis which took much of her working time as an operator in a Japanese company in Shah Alam. Ultimately, after having been on medical leave for finding a diagnosis to her kidney failure and for her dialysis she had to quit her job.

In the search for a dialysis centre, she found a vacancy in Pusat Dialsis NKF – Bakti( Klang). She is now settled in her routine of dialysis and spends her additional time watching television programmes, cycling and cooking.

a transplant even across different blood groups.”

“ However, if the donation is from a deceased donor such as an accident victim, those with intracranial bleeding and certified brain death but their heart is still pumping, the organ is still perfused and suitable for donation, then there is a waiting list in Malaysia.”

“ The moment you require dialysis, and you’ re already in the dialysis programme, automatically your name will be registered into the national registry. Nevertheless, after the age of 60, the name will be taken off due to the high risk of such a transplant, while prioritising those who are still young – to push them up the ladder of the waiting list.”

He then quoted news reports as at October 2017 where more than 21,000 chronic patients, as well as those suffering stage four organ failure were reported to be on the waiting list for organ transplants. Of these, he said, only an estimated 20 to 30 patients get into the kidney donation programme.

Years before obtaining an organ transplant

An average waiting time, according to Ng, is between 14 to 16 years.

“ That means, once you step into the dialysis programme, you have to ensure yourself to be in good health status for that period of time. Then your name will be in the top waiting list.”

“ When there is an organ donated, then you’ ll be called by the transplant centre. But often, these patience health deteriorates due to the long waiting time compared to the first time they entered into the programme.”

“ Due to this, they may be disqualified due to health and heart related issues where they are deemed unsuitable with past history of multiple infections. After transplant, a patient may have to take amino suppressed medications and transplant doctors may think that they aren’ t suitable candidate,” he said.

medicine, so it need not go through stringent clinical trials to proof their potential side effects. As long as it is not toxic and doesn’ t cause death, it can be sold.”

The potential side effects is evident from patients who are diabetes – upon consuming such products – the acceptable kidney function is straight away pushed into dialyses need, a diabetic consuming slimming products who present an acute critical stage requiring dialysis and patients consuming extracts from certain fruits; and certain phytochemicals sold in the form of juice also show rapid kidney deterioration after consumption.

“ You can easily detect any abnormalities through blood test if these substance cause harmful effect on the health.”

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ABDOMINAL compartment syndrome( ACS) is organ dysfunction due to increased intra-abdominal tension.

“ It is not a disease as it is uncommon, and only happens for a reason. Let’ s say you have an abdominal injury and you bleed intra abdominally and because the abdomen space is quite limited, so pressure is built up. Then it compresses on the main blood flow, so you will not just compromise your kidney, it comprises other micro organs such as the liver and the gut system as well,” explained Sunway Medical Centre Consultant Physician and Nephrologist Dr Ng Eng Khim.

He, however, pointed out that it doesn’ t happen without a reason.

“ It always happens as a form of consequences of other things such as intra-abdominal bleeding, trauma caused by motor vehicle accidence, or a rapture – a vascular organ inside that is bleeding or lacerated or as a consequence of a medical procedure such as a biopsy of certain organs,” he said.

A LOT of people who present themselves with back pain are usually concerned of the kidney.

Sunway Medical Centre Consultant Physician and Nephrologist Dr Ng Eng Khim explained that in actual fact, kidney ailments don’ t cause back pain – no pain at all.

“ You only suffer pain if there are stones in the kidney or there’ s an infection going into the kidney.”

“ In slow deteriorating kidney function, there are no symptoms at all. By the time they get all the non-specific symptoms such as loss of appetite, lethargic and leg swelling- they would have only 20 per cent kidney function left.”

“ In the early stage, kidney ailments are asymptomatic. For this reason, we advocate screening for those with diabetes,- get your kidney screened every six months to once a year, those with high blood pressure, those with past history of kidney stones disease, those aged 65 or older as elderly patients are prone to get kidney failure, those with unexplained family history of kidney impairment and those with long term pain relieve medications,” he said.

THERE is also a misunderstanding that if one becomes a donor, one fine day I would be a patient myself.

Sunway Medical Centre Consultant Physician and Nephrologist Dr Ng Eng Khim assured patience that they can take full trust in kidney donor programme in Malaysia.

“ Someone would not be classified as a donor if there is some health related issues or if a donor has been found that they have below the expected kidney function. Even though the donor insist that he / she wants to be the donor, it will not be allowed as there is a very extensive and stringent selection criteria whereby their health will be assessed.”

Ng explained that after the donation, the donor will be under the care of a kidney specialist for the rest of their lives to monitor their kidney health over the years and that they don’ t become a dialysis patient themselves one day.

“ There is also a lot of misunderstanding that their health condition and fitness levels or a person’ s fertility level will be half than what people of their same age.”

“ No issue at all. For certain reason, we are created with two kidneys, but we just need one to function healthily at more than 80 per cent the expected function and we can live as normal,” he said.