A new lease of life: Providing dialysis access in rural China

In Tongxin county, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, a hemodialysis room has brought new hope to uremia patients. Earlier, local kidney disease patients had to travel hundreds of kilometers each week just to receive essential dialysis. Today, their wish of "receiving dialysis at their doorstep" has been fulfilled, restoring their dignity and confidence in life.

Ma Yongpeng from Xiamaguan town was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2019, which progressed to uremia. Since 2023, he has struggled with long medical trips. "I traveled to the hospital over 200 times a year, spending over 100 yuan per trip, or 400 yuan for a car in snowy winters," he recalled.

The turning point came in 2025 with the opening of Xiamaguan's hemodialysis room — the second at the township health center level in Northwest China. Equipped with four dialysis machines (serving eight patients daily) and a nine-member medical team including two auxiliary experts, it provides full-time care.

Medical workers offer careful daily care guidance. The clinic offers flexible appointment slots in the morning, afternoon and evening, with most of the costs covered by medical insurance, significantly easing the financial burden on patients.

This facility solves the "difficulty and high cost of accessing medical care" problem for local patients, reflecting the Party's and government's focus on people's well-being. It witnesses the development of primary medical care and the practice of a people-centered concept. Kidney disease is neither incurable nor infectious, and it is hoped that this grassroots medical support will let more patients live a normal life.