Manipal Institute of Nephrology and Urology (MINU) has introduced the "Dialysis On Wheels" programme taking dialysis to the homes of the patient rather than have the patients come to the hospital on regular basis. The fully equipped air-conditioned dialysis mobile unit will be available round the clock and can be called for on the helpline- 520 4000.

The concept is the first of its kind in India and will be useful to the patients who are unable to travel to the hospital because of age, disability or lack of family or social support. The dialysis can also be transported to smaller hospitals and nursing homes where such facilities are not available, allowing the patient to get treatment closer home rather than moving from one hospital to other.

Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, director, Manipal Institute of Nephrology and Urology said, "With the dialysis on wheels we intend to make life easier for severe kidney failure patients who need dialysis."

The compact 'Dialysis On Wheels' comes with trained doctors, technicians and other support staff needed for dialysis. It is equipped with purified water for the procedure, UPS (uninterrupted power supply) back up, special reclining chair and state of the art dialysis machine. The machine can be moved into the homes if required and patients can receive the treatment right along the bedside. This service is priced at Rs. 2,200 along with the ambulance charges per visit.

MINU has performed over 24,000 dialysis a year. It has come up with other programmes like the subsidized ambulance service to transport the dialysis patients, nocturnal dialysis for the working class patients without the daily schedule getting affected and the free dialysis programme for the economically backward sections of the society in collaboration with philanthropic organisation like the Belanje Sanjeeva Hegde Trust.

In India, severe kidney failure afflicts about 2 lakh people annually. There are only two treatment options available for the people with severe kidney failure. One is the long term dialysis or kidney transplantation. Many people depend on long term dialysis as a life support system if they have severe kidney failure because of the costs involved and the lack of infrastructure. It is estimated that less than 10 per cent severe kidney failure patients receive any form of treatment and 90 per cent die an agonising death.

MINU has also awareness programmes about kidney and urological diseases. It has set up satellite centres in Bangalore and other regions so that renal case is accessible to all. The institute has also performed the first Cadaver transplant in Karnataka and is the only Lithotripsy centre to perform non-invasive management of stone diseases.