60 Kidney patients at risk as dialysis unit faces shutdown in Qamishlo

She confirmed that this situation threatens the lives of dozens of kidney patients who fully depend on regular dialysis sessions and warned of a worsening health crisis if urgent intervention does not take place.

Al-Shaab Hospital has six dialysis machines and provides free treatment services to 60 registered patients. The department receives between 25 and 30 patients daily for dialysis sessions and delivers approximately 120 treatment sessions per week.

According to the hospital administrator, Maysa Matar, each patient undergoes two dialysis sessions per week at the hospital.

She explained that the recent attacks on the region, accompanied by the forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents from Afrin to Tabqa and Raqqa, and later to Qamishli, have led to an increase in the number of kidney patients seeking treatment at the hospital, placing significant pressure on the dialysis department.

She confirmed that the currently available quantities of medical supplies will not be sufficient to meet the hospital’s needs in the coming days, warning that the shutdown of the dialysis department would seriously worsen patients’ suffering.

Matar pointed out the hospital’s urgent need for kidney-specific medical supplies that are unavailable in the region, including filters, tubes, fistulas, acid, powder, and heparin serum, all of which are used in every dialysis session. She warned that the hospital may be unable to secure these supplies within a maximum of ten days.

She added that kidney patients face the risk of severe health complications due to toxin buildup and electrolyte imbalance if dialysis sessions cannot continue.

She noted that the Health Authority had previously secured dialysis supplies from Raqqa and Aleppo, but the imposed blockade and road closures have halted this process, causing these materials to disappear from markets and warehouses and making it impossible to bring them into the region.

Matar concluded by stressing that humanitarian organizations are currently the only available option to secure the necessary medical supplies and medications to ensure the continued operation of the dialysis department at the hospital.

ANHA