No Kidney Left Behind

Background and Need: WHO identifies kidney diseases as 12th and 17th major cause of death and disability worldwide, respectively. Incidence of CKD in India is estimated to be around 229 million per million populations. In patients with End Stage Renal Disease, Hemodialysis at present remains the main modality of treatment.  One of the barriers to successful outcomes in dialysis program identified is challenge of timely access to the dialysis center that renders segments of population vulnerable and susceptible to complications1.

Assessment: 10,500 persons (Patients and caregivers) have been transported between April 2018 till Dec 2022 covering almost 1, 04,347 Kms. All sorties were done without any patient complications.

Aims: Provide transportation to needy patients with ESRD requiring hemodialysis to ensure timely access to the dialysis center that could otherwise render this group of patients vulnerable and susceptible to poor compliance and complications.

Implementing Partner: Help Poor Voluntary Trust.

Start Date:  April 2018

Design: KASHMER conceived & designed the project “No Kidney Left Behind” and in collaboration with HPVT as implementing partner, BOUKVAT as operational partner and ILAHIYA Dialysis Centre as supporting partner with the aim of providing free transportation to poor Patients on dialysis and their care givers from villages with under developed road transportation system to the dialysis center in time from home /nearest bus terminal and back after completion of treatment. To accomplish this task one ECCO Ambulance was procured, and a driver hired to run it, and handed over to HPVT (BOUKVAT/ILAHIYA Dialysis Centre). Project continues to be operational since April 2018

Personnel:  One Driver

Numbers/Key Performance Indicators

Assessment of the impact: Dialysis transportation support facility has made significant difference to the patients and their care givers that utilize the service to ensure meeting timelines of their procedure with ease of arrival to & from dialysis center.

Current status: The project is currently meeting its goals. Dialysis of patients is now covered by government sponsored Gold Card scheme and many new dialysis centers have come up, but transportation still remain a challenge for patients. KASHMER will revisit its project parameters and if feasible will expand the project further in 2023-24.

  1. Clin Kidney J, 2020, vol. 13, no. 4, 510–512; Clin Kidney J 2020; vol. 13: 640–646