Imdad-Sitara Khan Foundation – a non-profit organization registered under
the Society Registration Act, 1860 – has stabilized 9 Kidney dialysis
Centers to facilitate End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) treatment to the
financially challenged patients of Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh thousands of kidney patients die every year due to
inadequate dialysis facility. Sadly enough, thousands of poor kidney
patients cannot even afford such treatment due to its exorbitant cost.
Moreover, hinterland patients cannot even reach these scarce kidney
centers, which are only available in major cities.
According to Bangladesh Kidney Foundation's statistics, every year about
forty thousand people suffer from renal failure. Due to various problems
of kidney transplant, now a days, haemodialysis is the only option for
survival of End State Renal Failure (ESRF) patients. In Bangladesh,
unfortunately, the dialysis facility is limited to a few major cities and
is highly expensive and inadequate. An ESRF patient needs 3 haemodialysis
per week for normal function. But due to its exorbitant cost and
non-availability in hinterland towns, thousands of patients cannot even
afford dialysis. Due to its high cost many patients are compelled to
compromise on the number of dialysis and many families are economically
crippled and turning destitute to meet the high cost of treatment.
In view of the above sufferings of poor patients and driven by the feeling
"to pay back to motherland", Old Rajshahi Cadets Association USA - Chapter
(ORCA -USA), organizations of expatriate Bangladeshis in the USA, planned
to set up kidney centers in Bangladesh and approached 'Khan Family
Foundation', Saratoga, CA, USA for additional help. It may be mentioned
that ORCA-USA in coordination with ORCA in Bangladesh has been
implementing numerous charity projects in Bangladesh.
The Khan Family Foundation established in the USA in 2003 by expatriate
Bangladeshi Dr. Imdad H. Khan and his wife Mrs Sitara A. Khan have donated
funds to many philanthropic organizations worldwide. In Bangladesh it has
funded scholarships to meritorious but needy students for studying
engineering, medicine and science.
Under the patronage of Khan Family Foundation, a trust named "Imdad-Sitara
Khan Foundation" was established in Bangladesh to carry out the
philanthropic activities. Imdad Sitara Khan Foundation (ISKF) is funding
to establish kidney centers in district towns throughout Bangladesh.
Inspired by this noble cause, the Independent Dialysis Foundation Inc,
Maryland, USA has donated 39 dialysis machines to ORCA- USA to the Imdad
Sitara Khan Kidney Centers in Bangladesh,which run on a non-profit basis.
Starting its operation in 2006, ISKF to date has set up 9 kidney dialysis
centers, one each in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Bogra, Kushtia, Dinajpur,
Moulvibazar, Chittagong, Barisal and Khulna. Although at the beginning it
relied only on Khan Family Foundation, USA, for its funding, from 2009 it
was able to garner financial support from more individuals and
organizations, International and local, to expand its network in
Bangladesh.
|
