3 minute read
charity kidney research uk is warning that rising energy costs amidst what’s been called a “cost of living” crisis may have some people skipping their at-home dialysis treatments, putting themselves at substantially higher risk of death, yahoo! news reports .
there are two types of dialysis, according to the cleveland clinic : hemodialysis, in which blood is taken from your arm, circulated through a filter that contains water and salt and other additives and then returned to your body. peritoneal dialysis is done using a thin catheter that’s inserted into through the belly and into the peritoneum — the lining of a membrane in the abdomen. the catheter is connected to a bag with dialysis solution which flows into the peritoneal cavity and absorbs waste and other fluids — this can take more than an hour. the fluid is then drained.
advertisement
with energy bills expected to jump about 80 per cent in october to £3,549 a year for the average u.k. household, with additional increases coming in 2023, the average annual bill could climb to £6,000 in april, says yahoo! news. meanwhile, according to the guardian , britain’s new prime minister liz truss is expected to announce a freeze on household energy bills at roughly £2,500 per year to protect people from rising costs. the freeze is expected to last through this winter and next, with changes pushed through ahead of october when the price cap is scheduled to increase.
what’s the situation here in canada? according to the kidney foundation of canada , one in 10 people has kidney disease — that’s roughly four million people. more than 46 per cent of new patients are under the age of 65, and of those with end-stage kidney disease, 58 per cent are on dialysis, with more than three-quarters receiving institutional hemodialysis (in hospital), the most expensive treatment option. despite those numbers, canada is a high user of home dialysis by international standards with about five per cent of people using home hemodialysis, which is promoted by provincial governments . a 2019 report in bmc nephrology found improved long-term survival with home hemodialysis compared to institutional treatment.
advertisement
the canadian institute for health information pegs the price of caring for someone on dialysis at around $56,000 to $107,000, depending on the type of dialysis treatment. in fact, a 2018 report on the out-of-pocket costs for canadians living with kidney failure found that of 50 per cent of patients whose household income had dropped since starting dialysis, two-thirds said it had decreased by 40 per cent or more.
but there may be some relief in sight. hospital volunteer anya pogharian invented a dialysis machine prototype with at-home potential in 2015, cbc news reported . while machines reportedly cost about $30,000, hers could be available for $500, making it more affordable for people to have dialysis at home.
