Kidney transplants at low cost: A doctor who treats and fights to make kidney care affordable

Dr Georgi Abraham, a veteran nephrologist, treats kidney patients and fights to make kidney care affordable. During a kidney transplant for his patient Chandran, over a decade ago, Dr Abraham realized that the procedure often hinges on financial means. Despite advancements in medicine, donor-recipient matching, screening, and anti-rejection drugs, patients with limited funds still struggle to afford the transition from dialysis to transplantation.

Dr Abraham aims to build a low-cost, high-access transplant-care model that reduces costs through subsidies, expands the donor pool by efficiently recovering kidneys from deceased donors, and ensures post-surgery care to maintain longer-lasting transplants. Anti-rejection medication costs can range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, depending on the match between donor and recipient.

Dr Abraham has previously pioneered peritoneal dialysis, a home-based treatment for kidney failure, which has helped reduce dialysis costs. His foundation has provided over 9.04 lakh free or subsidised dialysis sessions to 3,378 patients. Dr Abraham also advocates for targeted kidney screening through primary health centres across India to identify chronic kidney disease before irreversible damage occurs.

He suggests a simple blood test, urine exam, and blood pressure measurement to assess kidney health. Despite progress in kidney care, Dr Abraham emphasizes the need for more preventative screening infrastructure to prevent patients from reaching the stage of requiring dialysis or transplantation.