‘Children can go to school, live normally’ – Local doctor on pediatric kidney care

Children with kidney disease in Guyana will have access to life-changing dialysis treatments that let them go to school, play, and live a normal childhood.

This will be possible through a new initiative led by Dr. Areefa Alladin at the Georgetown Public Hospital. It will offer, for the first time, peritoneal dialysis, a treatment that allows children to undergo dialysis at home through the public healthcare system.

“Children need to need to go to school. They need to have a play, they need to sleep, they need to grow and eat. We think peritoneal dialysis will be the best option for children,” Dr. Alladin said.

Dr. Alladin’s passion for caring for children living with kidney disease has led her to dedicating years of research and study abroad focused on kidney disease for both adults and children.

Having returned to Guyana after seven years, Dr. Alladin joined her Alma Mater, the University of Calgary to secure the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) Sister Renal Centres Grant, launched at the hospital on Thursday, in keeping with World Kidney Day, to improve kidney care here. The grant can overtime hit a maximum of US$60,000.

This two-year pilot programme, which focuses on both children and adult kidney care, aims is to train healthcare professionals in pediatric dialysis techniques, and establish automated peritoneal dialysis systems for home use. It will also help provide hemodialysis capacity for children who require it and ensure access to essential medications, and therapeutic monitoring for effective treatment.

Nurses and specialists will be trained to deliver these treatments safely, following newly established protocols and guidelines particularly for child care as it differs from adults. Dr. Alladin emphasised that this initiative is part of a larger plan to create a comprehensive pediatric kidney care center.

But she also recognises that care for children with kidney disease differs by case and therefore, the objective is to develop the various options. Additionally, the programme caters for kidney transplant options.

“We will train people to do kidney biopsies, testing for those conditions that we need to diagnose, having access to electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence, so that we can diagnose children with kidney disease, diagnose adults with kidney disease, and support our transplant program,” she said.

Importantly, Dr. Alladin said ensuring medication is available at all times and can be properly administered is paramount. 

Dr. Julian Midgley from the University of Calgary, an international partner in the project, praised the program.

“We are supporting Dr. Alladin as she establishes this life-changing programme, and our teams will collaborate virtually and in-person to ensure its success,” he said.

The programme will position the Georgetown Public Hospital as a regional leader in pediatric dialysis, offering care that was previously unavailable in Guyana and paving the way for support across the Caribbean.