By Deborah Tolu-Kolawole
A 47-year-old woman, Kehinde Ugbede-Egbeyemi, has appealed to individuals and organisations to assist her in raising the sum of N15m for a kidney transplant.
Ugbede-Egbeyemi said she came down with kidney failure in 2018 shortly after she got married to her husband, a teacher.
A medical report by the Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, Abuja, showed that she was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease in February 2018.
It noted that the woman was being managed with “a twice-weekly haemodialysis schedule, intermittent erythropoietin and iron sucrose injection, antihypertensive and other supportive management.”
The report, signed by a Consultant Nephrologist, Dr Benjamin Arijesuyo, further stated that the best treatment option for her condition was “a kidney transplantation in terms of improved quality of life and long-term survival.”
The hospital said the financial implication for the procedure was “heavy,” adding that the patient would require assistance.
Narrating her ordeal, Ugbede-Egbeyemi said she had sold all her possessions in a bid to raise money for the transplant, noting that the weekly dialysis had drained her of finances.
The patient also disclosed that the last time she passed stool naturally was in 2018.
She said, “The disease started two months after I got married in February 2018 and it has cost me over N40m. I first paid N10m in 2018 for the transplant but because there was no donor, we could not carry out the procedure.
“So, the money was spent on drugs, weekly dialysis, supplements and hospital charges. As of 2020, I had spent about N30m.
“The second time, we paid N7m to the hospital after my twin brother offered to donate his kidney. People supported me with N4m.
“But the procedure could not be carried out because I was down with diarrhoea for one year. I was passing out only water and my vital signs were down. So, the money was also expended on dialysis and drugs at the Zenith Medical Centre.”
The businesswoman said she owed the hospital N6.5m, adding that the cost of dialysis had gone up from N43,000 to N48,600 and the procedure was conducted twice a week.
She noted that she was seeking between N12m and N15m for the procedure and appealed for support.
Financial assistance towards Ugbede-Egbeyemi’s kidney transplant can be made to her FCMB account 4250620013, Egbeyemi Kehinde Oluwatoyin.
Source: The Punch
