Dialysis Treatment in Malaysia: Where and How Much it Costs

Kidneys have an important function of filtering blood by removing toxin and excess water from our system and blood. There are many patients in Malaysia being diagnosed with kidney disease and the number grows bigger every day. Unfortunately, the symptoms of kidney failure are detected only when it is already at the critical stage and become too late to do anything. That is why it is important to detect the symptoms at early stage to avoid kidney failure. The causes of kidney diseases varies from obesity to diabetes to high blood pressure. There is no certain age for getting the disease, a child or an older person, anyone can get it. A person can get these diseases anytime if they don’t take care of their food consumption and their health. If the kidney starts to fail, then it is time for the patient to do dialysis.

The symptoms of kidney failures are:

a reduced amount of urine
swelling of your legs, ankles, and feet from retention of fluids caused by the failure of your kidneys to eliminate water waste
unexplained shortness of breath
excessive drowsiness or fatigue
persistent nausea
confusion
pain or pressure in your chest
seizures
a coma

If you have any of the symptoms above, you have to go visit a nephrologist near you. Here is a list of nephrologists in our website, LookP.com.

What is a dialysis? Dialysis is a treatment that filters and purifies blood using machine when our kidneys fail to do so. There are two types of dialysis treatments which are Haemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis. Haemodialysis is the common type done by patients. It uses an artificial kidney known as haemodialyzer that removes the waste and chemicals from blood. The nephrologist will create a vascular access into your blood vessels to ease the flow of the blood purifying process. The vascular access can be done at two points which are hand and neck (only one point is needed per patient). The treatment process takes three to five hours and is performed at least 3 times a week. The frequency and time span changes according to the doctor and your body condition.

The second type is peritoneal dialysis. This process involves a surgery in the beginning of implanting a catheter into your belly. This method uses the patient’s own body to filter and remove waste and extra fluid. First, a solution is inserted in the body and later on, the waste and excess fluid is taken out to a drainage bag. The process takes 30-40 minutes and needs to be performed 4 times a day. This treatment can be done by the patient himself and training is given by their kidney doctor, so that they can do it themselves at home. This treatment also can be done when the patient is going to sleep so time can be fully utilised.

Now, let’s talk about cost. The cost for dialysis is in the range of RM 13 - RM 285 per treatment. The price differs because dialysis centres in government hospitals are much cheaper than dialysis centres in private health centres, hence the wide range of prices. The cost might be expensive for all as it has to be done multiple times in a day/week. Hence, there are NGO’s, association and government that help support a certain amount of cost for the treatment. NGO’s price ranges from RM 0 – RM 90 according to your living condition. They will have an interview with you and determine where did you live before accepting your application. Other than that, there is SOCSO cut which private sector employees can apply for. SOCSO has a cut of RM 150. If the treatment costs more than RM 150 in the dialysis centre, the patient will have to add on the extra amount themselves. If the patient or children of the patient is working in government sector, the treatment will cost RM 280 and fully subsidised by the government, but for this you have to pay first and later the government servant will have to claim from the department they are working for. If you are not eligible for all the above, you can apply for government subsidy of RM 50. Muslims can ask for sponsorship from the Baitulmal as well. For all the sponsors applications above, you need to bring the patient’s I/C, dialysis report, blood test for HIV and all types of hepatitis (A,B,C) and doctor’s diagnosis report and a reference letter from the diagnosis centre that the patient will be attending at.

If you are a first timer, you might have to pay a deposit of one treatment and a registration fee to confirm your treatment booking. If you have any complications or upon doctor’s request, you might have to pay extra for injection such as EPO. The charges for per injection ranges from RM 18 – RM 120. Once in a while, you might have to do blood test to know the condition of the blood. The price range is from RM 240 – RM 320 in private sector.

When you are diagnosed with kidney disease, it is time to start looking for a dialysis centre, here is a list Dialysis centres near you that you can call to do some research. Different dialysis centre have different pricing and procedure. So, it is important for you to have some knowledge of the dialysis centre you are choosing or are about to choose. Another important point is, there are many dialysis patients throughout the country who are receiving treatment and many are still in waiting list to receive treatment as there is no place available. So, call the dialysis centre before walking-in and find out if there is any place available. If there is, book it and walk-in with the documents needed. If you are wait-listed, you might have to wait up to one year for treatment depending on how serious your condition is.

Here are the documents you need to bring with you for your first time: