NKF widens education efforts with new mobile screening centre

SINGAPORE —With deceased-donor kidney transplants experiencing another low in recent years, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has launched a mobile screening centre to educate the public on preventive efforts and to promote live-donor transplants as another treatment option as it aims to go beyond providing dialysis services.

Through its new Kidney Health Education Bus, the NKF will be holding health screenings on weekends at community centres and religious organisations.

On weekdays, the bus will travel to primary and secondary schools to further its education efforts.

The bus starts running today and has interactive exhibits to provide information on kidney disease, its prevention and treatment options.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was guest of honour at the launch, stressed that the NKF must go beyond providing dialysis services, while noting that four cases of end-stage kidney failure are diagnosed every day.

“I am therefore very heartened that besides increasing the capacity for haemodialysis, the NKF is concurrently working on three areas to help existing patients as well as curtail the rising burden of kidney failure. This includes, first, increasing community awareness on kidney diseases and preventive efforts; second, providing more support to patients on peritoneal dialysis; and, third, promoting kidney transplant as another treatment option.”

In July, the NKF set up an outreach committee to strengthen its initiatives to educate the community and form collaborations to better coordinate preventive efforts.

The health-screening service provided by the Kidney Health Education Bus will include the checking of cholesterol and blood-glucose levels, lipid profile and tests for kidney function.

With diabetes a leading cause of kidney failure here, the NKF is planning to run a second bus next year to provide dialysis-related screenings.

NKF chief executive officer Edmund Kwok said: “We cannot just remain a good dialysis provider — we also need to keep people healthy, so they don’t end up being kidney-failure patients. We feel it’s so important to reach out to the young, the community, because we want to go upstream and deal with things that can be prevented.”

He added that a transplant is the best treatment option and hopes to spread more awareness of this option with the foundation’s increased education efforts.

In 2012, the number of kidney transplants from deceased donors fell to its lowest since the Human Organ Transplant Act was expanded in 2004 to include non-accidental deaths. Doctors have since been urging live-donor kidney transplants.

Yesterday, the NFK celebrated its 45th anniversary with the launch of its Wheels of Love event at ITE East, where the public could also sign up for a free health screening.

Mr Goh Aik Siah, 60, was one of those who signed up and welcomed the bus initiative for its free screenings.

“My diabetes was discovered through a free health screening and I welcome any opportunity to get free screenings,” said the mechanic.