Clinical Director at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, has said one out of seven (over 15 per cent) Nigerians is down with renal failure.

The renowned nephrologist, who revealed that most of those that require dialysis do not get it, advocated the commencement of a deceased donor programme, as a vital solution to saving the lives of chronic kidney disease patients.

During a lecture on ‘The Evolution of Kidney Transplantation in Nigeria and the Legacy of Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe’ at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, Bamgboye highlighted the wastage of numerous organs on a daily basis, which could be used to the advantage of individuals reliant on dialysis.

The former president of Nephrology Association of Nigeria (NAN) emphasised that chronic kidney disease afflicts a significant number of individuals in the country, necessitating long-term dialysis or kidney transplant to sustain their lives.

He said: “This, I believe, would have been the dream of Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe and what he would have wished was achieved in his lifetime. The onus is now on us, his mentees, to ensure that this happens within the shortest possible time. I am sure he will then look down on us from the great divide with satisfaction that we have carried on his dream successfully.

“Chronic kidney disease is very common in our country. Over 15 per cent of people have it. That is, for every seven people, one has kidney failure. And it is estimated that over 100 people per million every year require kidney transplant.”

According to him, ideally, 22,000 people should be on dialysis, and the total number of people on dialysis is less than 5,000. He added that 90 per cent of people, who require dialysis and do not get it, will be dead within two weeks.

On the cost of treatment, he said: “Kidney failure is an expensive ailment to deal with. Even America spends over $40 billion yearly. So, we have to focus on prevention. We need to detect early and screen our population, like pupils, pregnant women and undergraduates. Let us detect early.

“The average transplant will cost nothing less than N20 million in two years. If 20,000 people develop kidney failure every year and require a transplant, you can multiply 20,000 by N20 million, which will give you the sort of figures we are looking at. The country cannot afford that.”

Vice Chancellor of UNIMED, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, said: “In Emeritus Prof. Akinkugbe, this university, our nation and the medical world globally found not only a brilliant mind but also a man of solid character, unassailable integrity, professional diligence and outstanding performance; a man who truly deserves to be honoured at all times.

“I am proud that our university, UNIMED, Nigeria’s first specialised university of medical and health sciences, made it a point of duty to initiate this series to honour this medical colossus while he was yet alive and followed through faithfully in yearly organising this event, despite his demise a few months before the first edition of the event took place in July 2021.”