A woman suffering from acute renal failure will have to wait for two years to get treatment in a specialist hospital. Muneera, the 44-year-old patient, got this response from the Medical Commission in Jeddah, to her request sent to the Ministry of Health. Muneera, a diabetic for over 15 years, is suffering from renal failure for one-and-a-half years now. She goes through hemo-dialysis 28 times a week. Her only daughter, Basma, 23, said she took her mother to a government hospital in Makkah as she was suffering from terrible pain in her abdomen. She said a general doctor in the hospital declared her mother physically fit. Basma insisted on a second opinion and an internist diagnosed her mother's case as an acute renal failure. At this point, they sent a request to the Ministry of Health to transfer her to a specialist hospital. Basma said they contacted hospitals abroad and all of them responded and confirmed the possibility of performing a kidney transplant. They could not travel outside because of lack of funds, Basma said. The patient's sister, Zain Al-Dakheel, 37, said she travels several miles everyday to conduct the hemo-dialysis for her sister. She said despite her sacrifices she fears that her sister cannot afford waiting long for the operation as she was getting weaker by the day.
