In need of funds for kidney transplant
Ronald Mpairwe is suffering from end-stage kidney disease and needs a transplant Photo by Lydia Ainomugisha.
What you need to know:
He had to have at least two sessions per week which he says was expensive for him. To keep up with the medication, he sold off some of his assets.
Two years ago, Ronald Mpairwe’s life was smooth and he was relatively successful. Then working with Ebo Sacco; a farmers’ saving scheme in Mbarara, Mpairwe had some savings and had acquired some plots of land.
One morning, he woke up feeling feverish but ignored the sickness and went about his work. The general body weakness persisted and he started noticing swellings on parts of his body, especially the face, in the mornings. The complication escalated and he started having difficulties in breathing.
At this stage, he could hardly find energy to go to work and therefore went to a private clinic. At the clinic, he was referred to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital where he was diagnosed with kidney disease and immediately started on a dialysis which cost him Shs300,000 per session.
He had to have at least two sessions per week which he says was expensive for him. To keep up with the medication, he sold off some of his assets.
His condition, however, kept deteriorating hence the need to seek further treatment at Mulago National Referral hospital.
At Mulago hospital, he was diagnosed with a kidney condition which had advanced to end-stage kidney disease. As a result, he had also developed other complications such as hypertension and anaemia.
Given these complications, he is undergoing two to three sessions of dialysis per week.
Dr Robert Kalyesubula, the president of Uganda Kidney Foundation and the nephrologist who has been treating Mpairwe, says sometimes Mpairwe cannot afford even one session of dialysis due to financial constraints.
“Besides, he needs something sustainable because dialysis is an expensive treatment requiring Shs350,000 a week for the rest of his life. Without this dialysis his chances of survival would be reduced to weeks or months,” Dr Kalyesubula explains.
He therefore recommends a kidney transplant which can be done by expert doctors in India.
Several tests were done on Mpairwe and his brother and the brother passed all the tests of a suitable donor.
Even Uganda Kidney board approved the transplant but Mpairwe does not have the money to perform the transplant.
A quotation given to Mpairwe from Yashoda Hospital, India states that he needs to pay $30,000, an equivalent of Shs90m, to cater for the costs of the transplant.
Mpairwe says his family is willing to sell their property including land back home in Bushenyi to keep him alive but the proceeds from this is estimated at only Shs30m.
Mpairwe therefore requests the public to help him raise the remaining Shs60m. The money will take care of the surgery, three return tickets to India, medications and accommodation while there.
