Bhubaneswar, Sept 24: Odisha is grappling with a severe healthcare gap as more than 18,300 people in the state suffer from chronic kidney ailments, yet only one government facility is available for transplants, Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
Despite the high caseload, the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack remains the lone government centre equipped to conduct kidney transplants. A senior health official acknowledged that the state is “woefully lacking in government healthcare centres,” forcing private and corporate hospitals to bear much of the transplant burden.
Mahaling further revealed that Narasinghpur and Badamba blocks in Cuttack district, along with Dhenkanal district, are hotspots for chronic kidney disease. Diagnostic facilities for detection are currently available at medical colleges, district headquarters hospitals, and sub-divisional hospitals.
To manage the load, 70 hospitals across Odisha now provide dialysis services through 513 dedicated beds, offered free of cost. In addition, under the Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana health insurance scheme, kidney patients are entitled to free treatment in both private and corporate hospitals.
So far, 1,481 kidney transplants have been conducted across government and private healthcare units in the state, Mahaling added.