GEORGE NEWS - A fundraising campaign through BackaBuddy was started during the holiday season to ensure that Thembalethu resident Joseph Tigere (38) can stay alive through private dialysis treatments while he is waiting for his medical aid benefits to kick in in July this year.
George Herald last year reported on Tigere's hardship after a kidney transplant he had at Groote Schuur Hospital in 2015 failed seven years later, in 2022.
Up until then he had been a state patient, but he no longer met the criteria to qualify for long-term dialysis at a public hospital after the failure of the new kidney.
He was forced to do peritoneal dialysis at home due to severe financial constraints, but suffered persistent infections and doctors advised him against this.
Huw Pritchard, a local who has been a huge support to the Tigere family over the years, intervened last year with a plea published in the newspaper for donations towards private dialysis treatments for Tigere, a father of two and the provider of his family.
Donations received in response to this paid for a number of private sessions at Fresenius Medical Care Kidney and Dialysis Centre. According to Pritchard, the cost of each dialysis session has gone up by about 50%.
Tigere has been registered with a medical aid and thanks to a donor, the monthly contributions are being paid. However, the medical aid benefit that covers dialysis only activates a year after a member joins.
A number of donations has carried Tigere through to date, but there is a shortfall.
Anyone wishing to donate, can visit the BackaBuddy website or phone Pritchard on 074 350 9938 for the banking details at Fresenius.
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