Dear Diary: I Have A Problem Getting A Much Earlier Dialysis Schedule Because I Am Infected With Hepatitis B and C

I cannot just choose the dialysis center that I wanted because the dialysis center must first accommodate my medical situation and condition. We must realize the fact that a dialysis center is a specialized kind of a treatment center that involves handling of blood by taking it out, cleaning it, and putting back in and it also includes cleaning and re-using the dialyzer for another use, sometimes some centers re-use the bloodlines as well, even the syringe plunger until they could not push or pull it anymore.

While they handle the blood there is a risk of cross-infection so the staff and the patients are exposed to blood-borne bacteria or viruses like HIV or Hepatitis B, C, etc.

Now in the dialysis center where I go for my bi-weekly treatments they have a dialysis machine that caters for those that will be or a candidate for a kidney transplant. Then they also have a machine for patients who are infected with a Hepatitis virus like B or C or both. I use those machines because I am infected with both Hepatitis B and just recently with the Hep C virus.

Being infected with the Hep B virus is also the factor that my kidney condition was not treated with medicines by my Nephrologist in Manila, he said that the medicine will be bad for my liver and that it is in their protocol not to give me the medicine because of that reason. The other reason is that my kidney problem will recur as the cause is my own body attacking the kidneys, but it was not clearly explained to me.

Now regarding the reason that I cannot choose a much earlier dialysis schedule is that if I will be put in an earlier schedule the staff would do a double disinfection in the dialysis machine after I used that machine so that the next patient in theory will not get infected considering that machine is used exclusively for Hepatitis B and C dialysis patients.

Double disinfection is a relatively long process and doing so will delay the schedule of the next patient so the staff have to put me always in the last schedule most of the time so after I used the machine will be the time they would do the double disinfection for the next day dialysis session.

Sometimes my schedule gets too delayed and now I cannot afford to get a much later schedule because of the condition of my father. He can't be so much up so late at night because of my father's high blood pressure issue. My mother told me not to agree with a later schedule but what I can do? So I am put into a much difficult situation where I am running out of options anymore. Such a life, God help me. I hope I get prayers from the ones concerned because it is getting hard now, it all adds up.

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