Newer, cheaper and more convenient methods of dialysis for kidney patients are available. Efforts must be made with government support to bridge the logistics and other challenges.

In 1991, we three doctors introduced continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) to kidney patients in India. The first patient to use it was a senior citizen in a hospital in Chennai, a diabetic suffering poor quality of life on conventional haemodialysis due to severe heart disease. He volunteered for the new method, and the hospital used dialysis fluid from Europe and an imported permanent peritoneal dialysis catheter.
At that time, even the Ministry of Health was not aware of this option. Today, things have progressed, and CAPD was recently included in the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PM-NDP).
In the early days of CAPD, many patients who came to Chennai for treatment from across India and even from Nepal showed substantial improvement in the quality of life.
Sustained appeals by nephrology specialists made possible the import of dialysis fluid, accessories and catheters under the open general licence scheme in 1994. This encouraged nephrologists to employ the procedure on more patients.--> READ MORE