Kidney transplant now possible under Philhealth Z package

MANILA, Philippines - A more meaningful new year awaits Herminia Terne, 53-year-old mother from Lapu-Lapu City, after several people and organizations worked hard together to reach a common goal that would benefit not only one person but a lot of people as well.

In 1995, Herminia was diagnosed with kidney failure, which progressed in October 2012. Her doctors advised her that she needed to undergo renal replacement therapy (either via hemodialysis or kidney transplant).

With limited options, she knew that a kidney transplant was her best chance at a better and longer life.  So she sought out a kidney transplant team to inquire.  But her creatinine was already very high, which necessitated a hemodialysis.  So while she was working for her transplant, she started the dialysis three times a week.

With her worsening condition, her doctor advised her to see Dr. Alvin Roxas, head of the section of kidney transplantation of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).

VSMMC is the only government hospital in Cebu that is accredited by the Department of Health to perform kidney transplants.  It has performed at least 51 kidney transplants since it started doing kidney transplant operations in 2006. VSMMC is one of only four hospitals nationwide and the only one in the Visayas contracted by the Philhealth and the DOH to provide the Type-Z Kidney Transplant package.

“Philhealth came up with the idea of universal health coverage that would not just cover hospital expenses but also ensure totality of care and attainment of better health outcomes for its beneficiaries, especially for those who are indigent or cannot afford to pay for medical treatments through the Z package,” explains Roxas.

Included in the package are: payment for hospital services such as hospital room and board fees, drugs and laboratory exams, operating room and professional fees for the entire course of treatment, including mandatory and other services required per illness.

 â€œUnder the Z package, Philhealth will subsidize P600, 000 for kidney transplant; however, if you are an indigent patient you can qualify to get the transplant procedure, including the work-up for the said amount. But to avoid patients from claiming they are all indigents, simple rules have been set,” Roxas quips.

With Philhealth’s Z package, Herminia’s only problem was to look for a living related donor.

“With the patient’s permission, I talked to her family and discussed her situation. She was very concerned about her children donating a kidney for her, but I saw in her eyes how much she wanted the transplant. As if everything in the world conspired for that moment, three of her children expressed their willingness to help their mother,” the young doctor relates.

Among Herminia’s four children, her eldest son Wyndel came out to be the best eligible donor for her. Wyndel, 26, is studying at the Philippine State College of Aeronautics taking up AB English. Herminia’s husband Delfin is a retired Philippine Air Force officer.

According to Dr. Cyril Tolosa, Sanofi medico-marketing manager, there are organizations in the public and private sector that help in kidney organ donations.

Tolosa points out, “According to the National Nutrition and Health Survey in 2008, two out of every 1,000 adult Filipinos have end-stage renal disease. This is roughly 200,000 adult Filipinos who are candidates of renal replacement therapy through dialysis or kidney transplantation. In 2011, the Philippine Renal Disease Registry showed that only 11,000 patients received dialysis while only 400 patients had kidney transplants. This huge gap might be addressed in the coming years with government and organ donation organizations playing a more active role in kidney disease.”

Sanofi initiated a program called SPARK (Sanofi Partnership for Access and Resources to Kidney transplantation) to support Philhealth’s universal healthcare program, specifically the Z package.

“To show our support to Philhealth and its partners, we provide our medicines at the lowest cost possible. For kidney transplant, Sanofi’s Thymoglobuline, which is one of the pioneers and leading medicines to prevent kidney rejection, is offered at an affordable price for patients of the Z package,” says Tolosa.

Last month, a week after the transplant, Herminia and her son were discharged from VSMMC and both of them are now doing well.