The Big Market for Dialysis in India

摘要

As growing incomes give India's millions access to First World staples such as cars and cell phones, the population is also experiencing an unpleasant byproduct of Westernized lifestyles: an epidemic of diabetes and the kidney disease it causes. While the number of Indian diabetics is predicted to hit 101 million by 2030, the cost of dialysis makes it a luxury for most patients. "There's a huge demand for dialysis centers, but only those who can afford it get it," says Georgi Abraham, a professor at India's Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and founder of the nonprofit Tamilnad Kidney Research Foundarntion that provides subsidized dialysis to the poor. "Often I find that patients just disappear. They get one or two sessions when they have some money and then stop. Within a week or two of stopping dialysis, they may just collapse and die."