Hundreds of Gazan kidney patients face death

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza Strip warned on Saturday that hundreds of kidney failure patients were in danger of death due to the acute shortage in medicines and other consumables used in the dialysis process. For his part, director of kidney department in the Shifa hospital Dr Abdullah Al-Qaishawi told a ceremony for kidney patients called "Smile of Hope" on Friday night that the Strip was in acute shortage of medicines and consumables needed for completing the dialysis process, PIC reported. More than 450 patients in Gaza suffer from kidney failure and need three dialysis sessions weekly. Repeated closure of Gaza crossings had led to the acute shortage in the dialysis process needs. Qaishawi underlined that any shortage in any component of the dialysis leads to a stoppage in the whole process. In the absence of alternatives, the process of kidney dialysis would be facing a crisis, he added. He also pointed out that the interruption in power supply affects dialysis, adding that repeated power failure negatively affects the machines and could lead to their complete stoppage.