Kidney patients lament lack of job opportunities

A number of kidney patients experience hardship because many government bodies refuse to employ them. This is a further problem in addition to those involving the long waiting list for kidney transplants.
The patients said dialysis centers were far away and too few to serve the large number of patients. There seems to be no clear program by the Health Ministry aimed at reducing the number of patients through proper education and early diagnosis of the problems.
Mohammad Al-Hassan suffered kidney failure in 2009, and from then up to the present, he has not been able to find a job that will help him provide for his family.
“In the beginning, I suffered from symptoms such as vomiting and pain in my joints,” he told a local newspaper.
“When I went to hospital, the specialist told me there were salts in my body which were causing kidney failure. I was referred to a hospital in Al-Ahsa in order to undergo dialysis,” he said.
After that, whenever he applied for a job, he was rejected because of kidney failure and a lack of assistance from the government.
Mohammad Al-Abdi said he had had kidney problems since birth but that he had learned to live with them. He continues to hope for a kidney donor who will help him end his suffering.
Mahdi Al-Ajmi complained of the difficulty in dealing with medical staff responsible for dialysis; he undergoes dialysis several times during the week.
Mansoor Al-Darea had to undergo dialysis three times a week. The dialysis center was a long way from his home and so he borrowed money and went to Egypt where he had a kidney transplant.
Umm Abdullah, a divorcee, said her son, aged 14, had had kidney failure since he was 4. His treatment is in Al-Qatif hospital which means they have to travel 200 km three days a week for dialysis.
Waheed Abdul Bashir said he has been undergoing dialysis three times a week for six years now.
“Kidney failure makes you lose everything; not just your health, you end up losing your job, with no one to help you but the social security which is less than SR3,000 a month,” he added.
Mohammad Abdo Asiri started dialysis over two years ago and hopes to find a donor who will end his suffering.