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Atukunda seeks Shs200m for kidney transplant
Ian Atukunda is on treatment for kidney complications. PHOTO/BEATRACE NAKIBUKA
What you need to know:
- His family says it is struggling to meet weekly medical costs.
Ian Atukunda, a 28-year-old resident of Luzira in Kampala was diagnosed with double kidney failure in March 2024. For more than six months, his health deteriorated and all efforts to treat infections were futile.
“He had been active but now, even walking short distances is hard. His skin colour turned pale. He lost weight and his feet started swelling,” his wife Jaria Namuli explained.
Under such circumstances, he was referred to Mulago National Hospital where he was diagnosed with kidney failure,” according to Namuli.
Since then, Atukunda undergoes dialysis three times a week but the family says it cannot afford the costs anymore.
He is also on daily treatment for high blood pressure and constantly anaemic- yet his blood type O negative is hard to find.
Dr Peace Bagasha, a nephrology specialist at Mulago National Referral Hospital, told Monitor that dialysis is only a temporary solution.
“He is currently stable with well-controlled blood pressure and biochemical parameters. To maintain this, he needs to continue haemodialysis at least three times a week indefinitely or obtain a kidney transplant which is estimated to cost Shs200m,” Dr Bagasha said.
“Doctors say after the transplant, my husband will not need dialysis anymore, his blood levels will stabilise and he will regain his weight and his skin colour will be restored. However, we are unable to get the money needed for the transplant. Therefore, I plead to well-wishers for support,” Namuli pleaded on Friday.
To financially support Atukunda:
Use or contact 0759822127, (Jaria Namuli), 0772671908 (Ian Atukunda) or DTB 7113916001 or DFCU 01510015649348 (Ian Atukunda)
