Praneeta Prakash 
[Source: File Photo]
A $40,000 dialysis machine donated to Labasa Hospital’s Dialysis Centre is set to expand life-saving treatment for kidney patients in Vanua Levu.
The donation from Extra Supermarket increases the Centre’s machines from five to six, boosting capacity for a facility already under pressure.
The Centre treats 30 full-time patients and delivers more than 250 dialysis sessions each month, serving as the only consistent lifeline for many in the North.
Extra Supermarket Chief Marketing Officer Lailanie Burnes states dialysis machines are more than medical equipment, they are vital for patients whose kidneys no longer function.
“Dialysis machines are not just a medical equipment, as you know, first and foremost. They are a critical tool. And that means the key survival of people and patients That have gone through and don’t have any more longer-serving kidney function.”
Vodafone Fiji Head of Recharge and Distribution Nilesh Singh said the upgrade would cut delays and allow more flexible treatment schedules, noting patients travel from as far as Taveuni.
“What started off in 2014 as a project where only two machines were there, has turned out to be that today we have six machines, and we have patients as far as Taveuni who are coming here to get treated.”
Patient Rajesh Chandra welcomed the donation, calling it a relief for those struggling to access timely care.
The Committee behind the initiative has also confirmed its next project, a prosthetic limb centre for amputees in the Northern Division.
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