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3 Aug, 2010 02:46

New equipment in Chechen hospitals to save children’s lives

In the Chechen Republic, the only chance at life for some kids with kidney disease was going to Moscow -- not something an average person can afford. But with new equipment, proper medical care is becoming a reality.

It’s been a year since her adopted baby girl died, but Larisa Aldamova is still mourning. She’s always looking at the pictures of her girl when she was in hospital – the only memory she has now.

“We think about her all the time and we’ll never forget her,” she said. “My mom is still crying… it is certainly hard to forget such a child.”

Seven-month-old Markha was brought to this hospital with acute kidney failure. Doctors did their best to save the girl, but without the special equipment to purify the blood, there was no hope.

“It was a shame to see a child who we couldn’t help,” the head of the ambulance department, Muslim Yunusov, told RT.

Yunusov has been working at the hospital for three years. During that time, 10 children have died from acute kidney disease.

This new equipment was installed four months ago. The doctors say it will support those suffering from renal failure until the moment they’ll be able to find a kidney donor. The last patient was treated here for two months before going to Moscow for a transplant.

“I don’t think it matters that these machines are not being used right now,” Yunusov said. “What really matters is that they are ready to accept patients and help them at least a little bit.”

The children’s hospital in the center of the Chechen capital has 11 departments, which makes it one of the biggest in the North Caucasus. People from all over the region come here for medical care. But the center for the treatment of kidney problems makes it special.

Children are brought here if they had a kidney problem, and in the past their only chance for treatment was probably to go to Moscow – provided their relatives had enough money. But now with the Russian government’s determination to decentralize specialist care, the unit is at their doorstep.

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