The Department of Health and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute are working on the establishment of more kidney transplant centers in various public hospitals in the country.

This was bared by NKTI chief transplant coordinator Peter Paul Plegaria in a news forum on Saturday, noting that some regions nationwide have yet to establish medical facilities capable of performing kidney transplants.

Plegaria said the NKTI is currently capacitating other DoH-run hospitals to become capable of treating renal diseases and be available for kidney transplant surgeries.

He stressed the need for the government to improve the people’s access to organ transplant centers.

Plegaria said there are only 38 organ transplant centers operating in 11 government-owned hospitals and 27 private hospitals.

Chronic Kidney Disease is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the Philippines, with the latest reports showing that around 2.3 million Filipinos have acquired the disease.

The NKTI estimates that one Filipino develops chronic kidney failure every hour or about 120 Filipinos per million population every year.

Meanwhile, NKTI Public Health Unit head Maria Angeles Marbella noted an increase of 8,000 hemodialysis patients from 2023 to 2024. This is higher than the estimated 2,000 to 3,000 reported in the past years.

Marbella said the latest figure is “roughly a 15-percent incidence of new cases of chronic kidney disease patients needing renal replacement therapy.”

These CKD patients are those who need to undergo hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and eventually, kidney transplantation, she added.

Plegaria, meanwhile, said patients still suffer from limited access to kidney transplant centers amid the growing number of Filipinos acquiring chronic kidney failure.

Regions like Cagayan Valley, Mimaropa, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen, Caraga and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao still need kidney transplant centers within their areas.

Meanwhile, the NKTI revealed it is currently holding consultations with Congress and the Department of Health on the possible amendments to Republic Act 7170 or the Organ Donation Act and other related policies.

Plegaria, in a news forum, said talks are underway to introduce possible amendments to the organ donation law and policies to increase the number of potential donors.

He said a “very small” number of donors despite the country’s efforts to intensify the organ donation campaign.

The sale of internal organs in the Philippines is prohibited as RA 7170 only authorizes the donation of all or a part of a human body after death for specified purposes.

Plegaria said becoming a living donor is more of an “altruistic act.”