The health service has registered 118 patients who have such a serious problem with their kidneys that they are included in a course of treatment, Naalakkersuisoq for Sundhed Anna Wangenheim informs. She denies that it will be possible for kidney transplants to take place in this country.
In addition to the 118 patientswho are in a kidney treatment program with the National Health Service, there are citizens who live with reduced kidney function without receiving treatment.
– The total number of citizens with reduced kidney function is estimated to be between 160 and 170, Anna Wangenheim states in a paragraph 37 answer to Mette Arqe-Hammeken from Naleraq.
Challenges patients
The serious disease, which may require a transplant, challenges those affected.
Anna Wangenheim states that the National Health Service will not be able to offer kidney transplants, as it requires specialists that the National Health Service does not have at its disposal. And given the small population size, the likelihood of a kidney match is very limited.
– In addition, kidney transplants require recipients to be ready for surgery with a few hours’ notice when a donor kidney becomes available, she states.
Patients who need a kidney transplant must be operated on in Denmark if they otherwise meet the medical criteria.
Must reside in Denmark
– However, it is a necessary condition that the patient resides in Denmark, as the translation itself must be carried out within a very short period of time after a suitable donor kidney becomes available, explains naalakkersuisoq.
And the disheartening thing for these patients is that the wait for a transplant can drag on for years. So in addition to being ill, you must also be resident in Denmark.
Anna Wangenheim states in the answer that a kidney transplant costs between DKK 267,932 and DKK 392,264, depending on the individual course, where complications can arise.
– In addition there are expenses for travel, accommodation and life-long medication, which vary considerably, she says.
