Call to help dialysis patients

Innis Toussaint’s girlfriend would like to donate one of her kidneys to help him but her blood is not a match for him. She is, however, a match for Toussaint’s friend.

A stranger could be a perfect match for Toussaint but until the Human Tissue Transplant Bill is implemented, kidney swapping between people who are unrelated cannot be done. “There are many people who want to give but they don’t match,” he said. Toussaint has been going for weekly dialysis treatment at the Dialysis Centre, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope for the past 11 years. He is 46 years old. It has caused his bones to deteriorate, resulting in him having two hip replacement surgeries done. His shoulder has also been affected. “All my bones are going,” he said. Toussaint is critical of the service offered at Mt Hope describing the facility as an “empty shell.” Although the Centre has six new dialysis machines that work efficiently, the other items which should go with the treatment are lacking. “The Mt Hope pharmacy does not stock the things we need and every added thing you have to pay. If you are on dialysis and get a headache, you have to pay for the tablet.” Saline solution, blood builders (Eprex), iron tablets and Rocatrol, a high form of calcium, are not part of the service. “They don’t have those things in place for patients to survive the stress of dialysis.”

Toussaint said the new machines may provide help but without the other items, they are “killing.” While patients in Trinidad are paying approximately $700 for each session and the added expense of medication, Toussaint said their Tobogonian counterparts were getting it free. He appealed for free dialysis for renal failure patients in Trinidad. The Government’s warehouse, C40, was also criticised for having “nothing” for dialysis patients. Toussaint said many patients are giving up because they could not afford dialysis. “All the money you put aside for your children and food, that goes for doctors.” Toussaint has exhausted his medical plan and the medical insurance from TT Electrical Company where he worked a cable joiner for 23 years. He has been living on legal aid and assistance from his family. “You know how hard it is to suffer when you see things could get better,” he said.  During dialysis treatment last Wednesday, Toussaint said the syringe used to draw blood fell off the line in his arm causing his blood to spill onto the floor. He said the syringe being used is  “the cheaper one” without a safety lock for it to  securely fasten to the line.