KUALA LUMPUR: The number of kidney patients has tripled in the last 10 years with almost all the 15,000 Malaysians awaiting organ donors to be suffering from kidney failure.

“With each passing year, the number of Malaysians suffering kidney failure has increased.

“In 2001, a total of 7,837 Malaysians were undergoing dialysis treatment and this has risen to 22,932 in 2010,” Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassain said when officiating the World Kidney Day celebrations at Dataran Merdeka.

Muhyiddin said the government would continue to help kidney patients through subsidies for haemodialysis treatment and ‘capital grant’ for the purchase of haemodialysis machines.

He said RM171.1mil was allocated by the government in the form of subsidy for haemodialysis treatment to non-governmental organisations in the 10-year period from 2001 while a capital grant of RM20.15mil was given to dialysis centres for the purchase of new haemodialysis machines.

“It is estimated that 23,390 patients had benefited from the government initiative and this reflects the strong commitment to assist the needy kidney patients,” he said.

– THE STAR