The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is planning to increase the benefits granted to members who need to undergo kidney transplantation.
The proposal is now being reviewed by PhilHealth officials and is awaiting approval by the board. A statement handed during a conference announcing the state of kidney donations in the country quoted PhilHealth as saying that the amount of benefits may increase from the present P100,000 to P300,000.
The conference was arranged by the health magazine Medical Observer which revealed important statistics, policies and steps being done by the Department of Health (DoH), non-governnment organizations, medical societies, advocates of organ donation and other sectors and stakeholders in increasing the awareness of the public regarding organ donation as well as efforts to increase organ reserves gathered from deceased donors.
Seven thousand Filipinos die due to kidney failure every year. Meanwhile, some 11,000 are expected to undergo dialysis this year, the experts revealed in the conference.
According to Dr. Benjamin Balmores Jr., president of the Philippine Society of Nephrology, diabetes and hypertension are the top causes of kidney failure today.
“Diabetes accounts for 42 percent and hypertension for 25 percent of cases of kidney failure,” Balmores said, adding that the figures are bound to go higher as cases of the two diseases are also rising steadily in recent years.
Dr. Vanessa de Villa, chairperson of the DoH technical working group that established the administrative orders and policies relating to organ donation, noted that there is a huge number of untapped potential deceased organ donors because in Metro Manila alone, there are five trauma deaths every day. This translates to 1,800 potential deceased donors each year.
She noted that kidneys gathered from deceased donors in the country is limited. In 2006, only 34 patients received kidney transplants from deceased donors. The number was even reduced to 29 in 2007 and increased to 33 in 2008. In 2009, the number doubled to 65.
Through the DoH AO No. 2010-19, a program for deceased organ donation was established. –JENNY F. MANONGDO, Manila Bulletin
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