As a result of a fundraising dinner and dance organised by a group of Greek Cypriot kidney transplant patients in London in September last year, £5,000 was raised for the Royal Free Hospital nephrology department. All proceeds went towards the purchase of a dialysis unit for a renal clinic set up in Malawi, the third poorest country in the world.
Dr Gavin Dreyer, Post CCT Renal Fellow at the Royal Free Hospital, Dr Hamish Dobbie, Consultant Nephrologist at Royal London Hospital and Dr Rhys Evans, Specialist Registrar at Lister Hospital, have sent the following letter to Elias Michael (better known in our community as Elias Maronitis), who was one of the first Cypriots to receive a transplant at the royal Free Hospital 23 years ago, thanking people for their kind donations and explaining how the funds will be utilised:
“Dear Mr Michael,
On behalf of the patients and staff at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Renal Unit in Malawi, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your donors for the charitable donation of £5,000.
This will be transformative for our patients and staff, providing essential medical equipment for our kidney patients who we care for in Malawi. The country and hospital are going through some of the most challenging economic circumstances they have ever faced. This had led to shortages of equipment at a time when we are opening our dedicated kidney ward which will care for patients with both acute, chronic and end stage renal failure.
We will use these funds to invest in the service we provide. Specifically, we have already purchased an oxygen concentrator, suction machine and patient trolley and we have a list of core equipment that we will provide using these funds, all of which will directly benefit patients and their families.
The donation will quite simply transform lives, provide medical care and support our programme in Malawi which is dedicated to the better detection and management of kidney disease.
Our patients and staff in Malawi specifically express their sincere and deepest gratitude to your donors, highlighting that without the support of donors from the UK, their complicated lives with kidney disease would be even more challenging.
Mr Michael, thank you for all the hard work from you and your community to make this donation a reality. We hope this represents the beginning of a new partnership as we strive to improve the lives of patients with kidney disease in Malawi.
It is our pleasure to attach some photos of the ward, its staff and the equipment the donations has funded.”