It’s been a very difficult time for all of us since thepandemic has begun. For more than one year now, people are still suffering, be itfinancially, mentally, or physically. Last year was especially disastrous forthose undergoing medical ailments. Ashwin Kadam from Mumbai’s Gorai also felthelpless during the lockdown when he could not get a hemodialysis treatment forhis chronic kidney disease. Such patients require kidney dialysis at least oncea week or more as per the condition. In that tough phase, Ashwin could seek therequired medical care without any hindrances and the treatment was at a lowercost, all thanks to Mumbai-based startup ‘The Renal Project.’
Renal Project helped many such patients.
The project was launched by the 39-year-old Shashank Moddhiain 2019 after he quits his job in the USA. He worked with Baxter International,a USA-based multinational healthcare company that provides affordablehemodialysis to patients. Shashank holds a Masters degree in BiomedicalEngineering from the University of Texas, USA.
The idea behind the start-up
According to Shashank, hemodialysis does not reach thevillages, mainly due to the huge operational costs and the quality is also notas per standards. As the number of patients increase each day, it becomesdifficult for hospitals to run a facility for hemodialysis as the dedicated staffhas to be deployed. From the availability of the staff to requiring blood tostaff’s preparation for all kinds of emergencies etc, it becomes difficult ashospitals do not offer full-scale treatment. And that’s the reason it is notfeasible in rural areas too. It was after this when Shashank did a detailedstudy for about four months and decided to launch a startup to help patients livingoutside the city.
The majority of hospitals offering kidney dialysis are locatedin urban areas and 50% of the patients who require hemodialysis are from ruralareas. Traveling from semi-urban or rural areas to the hospital twice orthrice a week becomes difficult for them.
The startup helps in reaching out to such patients for theirtreatment at a lower cost.
Offering services at affordable prices
A single session for hemodialysis costs between Rs. 1,700and Rs. 4,000. Thus, the annual average expense turns out to be around Rs. 2lakhs. Whereas, his startup offers treatment between Rs. 725 and Rs. 1,400,reducing the cost by almost 40 percent. Shashank reduced the cost of theinfrastructure by scaling it down. A small unit of three to six beds is establishedin a 200-sq feet room in a private hospital. Three-bed setup costs about Rs. 25lakh, including the cost of the equipments.
Apart from Mumbai, the company has centres in Thane, Pune,Nashik, Nagpur, and Sangamner.