Lives of patients with kidney failure in danger in Gaza

The Director of the Hospital Pharmacy Department at the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Alaa Helles, appealed to all concerned authorities “to assume their responsibilities to save the lives of kidney failure patients due to the acute shortage of the necessary medical supplies needed for dialysis sessions, which poses a threat to the lives of 1,100 kidney failure patients, including 38 children.”

Helles explained yesterday that “the central warehouses are completely empty of medical consumables for dialysis services, including blood filters, cannulas and blood tubes.” The current supply will only be sufficient to provide services for ten more days, he added.

He explained the Ministry of Health provides more than 13,000 dialysis sessions for patients with kidney failure in its hospitals every month, which requires providing more than 13,000 filters, 13,000 blood tubes, and 26,000 blood cannulas per month.

Helles called on the relevant authorities to “take urgent action to provide medical consumables for the needs of kidney failure patients, which means continuing service to them and preserving their lives.”

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