Farida Akhter, 55, undergoes regular dialysis at the BIRDEM Hospital. She has a husband and two children and the doctors advised kidney transplant from a member of the family. However, that is facing a snag. Farida says, “I cannot take kidney from my husband since he has diabetes and the children are small.”
Like Farida, many women suffering from kidney related problems die of complications as they cannot have transplants.
As per the data of Bangladesh Renal Association, every one woman out of four between the age of 65 and 74 is suffering from kidney ailments.
Unfortunately, kidney donors for women are rare.
Blaming lack of awareness for this condition, Professor Dr Md Rafiqul Alam, of the BSMMU, says, “In kidney donation, a mother giving one to her child is the most common, followed by wife giving to husband and sister to brother.”
Regrettably, no husband is seen giving kidney to the wife, said Dr Alam.
I saw one husband donating his kidney to the wife, but he did not want his name revealed.
The eighth most common reason for the death of a woman is due to kidney problem and every year, six lakh women die of kidney ailments across the world, says Bangladesh Renal Association.
The association further informs that during child birth, risks of kidney complications rise for women due to a hike in blood pressure. Also, every nine women out of ten face urinary tract infection.
Lack of awareness, apathy from family members and increased longevity compared to men, has been identified as the causes of kidney problems in women.
Professor Dr Asia Khanam of BSMMU adds, “Women face pregnancy related kidney failures; the transplant among women is low since very few people are coming forward to donate a kidney to them.”
Maybe for social reasons, people are unwilling to give kidney to women, she observed.