Local health authorities pointed out that 144 patients – including 16 children – receive hemodialysis treatment to replace kidney function.

Initially, only the provincial capital had the necessary equipment to provide this kind of treatment, but the situation has changed since nephrologic wards opened in the municipalities of Contramaestre and Palma Soriano.

The two facilities are equipped with a total of 14 artificial kidneys and can treat 84 patients from nearby municipalities, thus preventing them from traveling hundreds of kilometers.

In addition, the Northern Children's Hospital, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, is equipped with five artificial kidneys and can treat 30 children.

Treatment also includes transplants, more than 900 of which have been performed since September 1977 to date.

By: Dtcuba