Two months after being the first patient to undergo a kidney transplant in Cameroon, Bertrand Balogog 34, is back on his feet. “I feel fine my health has improved significantly after the operation” he says. Bertrand was only 23 years old when he was diagnosed of a chronic renal failure, then a student at the University of Yaounde 2, Soa.
After a malaise in 2011, he consulted his aunt, a medical doctor, who referred him to a colleague at the National Social Insurance Fund (NSIF) hospital. The test prescribed came back negative.
It was only after nine months when the fever persisted that Bertrand was diagnosed of kidney failure. “I ran another
test at Centre Pasteur and the results were handed to my aunt who understood the medical terms” says Bertrand.” She called a doctor at the Yaounde General Hospital and the next day I was admitted.”
Ignorant of what was happening the once vibrant young man came to understand that his kidney was damaged and could no longer filter blood properly causing waste to build in his body. “I only got to understand what was happening when Dr. Maimouna was inserting the catheter on me, she told me what was going on” Bertrand adds.
Dialysis is difficult and complicated. It drains you physically and mentally – if there’s an abnormality in the process, it can get a patient into a coma.
Bertrand Balogog
Patients with chronic kidney diseases are obliged to respect the twice a week dialysis treatment as prescribed in Cameroon to keep their health afloat. In Cameroon, a country with about 2,500 patients with acute kidney infections,
financial and technical challenges pose a threat to the patients.
But Bertrand was lucky to great support from family and friends. ” When you have financial and moral aid from loved ones, you can sail through” he says,” but I experienced the shortage of dialysis kits at some point such that I skipped some sessions.”
The shortage of dialysis kits at the different hemodialysis centers in Cameroon caused a riot sometime in Cameroon. According to researchgate.net, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Cameroon is associated with high morbidity and mortality and a huge economic cost on the patient.
Bertrand needed a kidney transplant to survive and on November 10, 2021, he was given another chance at life. When prof. Vincent de Paul Ndijientcheu was appointed director of the Yaounde General hospital. The new director was determined to give a way out to dialysis patients, Bertrand included.
This revived a kidney transplantation project that was under study by his predecessors since 2017. Bertrand Balogog was among a group of five dialysis patients to undergo kidney transplants in 2020 but the outbreak of COVID 19 stopped the process.
After almost a year and half, Prof. Ndijientcheu held consultations with his Swiss partners and then relaunched the transplantation project towards the end of 2021.
Bertrand who already had donors willing to sacrifice a kidney to save his life benefitted from the co-operation. “I never begged anyone for a kidney but I had at least four donors who came up willingly saying I am their brother and they can’t abandon me” says Bertrand.
His transplant would have been done eleven years ago if the project had been put into effect in Cameroon and if he could afford treatment abroad.
He finally received one from his brother, Yves Balogog 33, who today is also in a good state and back to his daily activities.
Having a new kidney is a major change for Bertrand’s body, so he’s been placed on immunosuppressants (anti-rejection medicines) for life to help fight rejection
and weaken his immune system.
Bertrand who is a taxi driver by profession says he is grateful God and man gave him another chance at life plus he is happy to be out of the strict diet. “I eat almost everything now, while in dialysis I had many restrictions, drinking half a liter of water per day but now I can take more” says Bertrand.
Life continues for Bertrand and he will via the Cameroon Association of Dialysis and Transplant Patients with Kidney Failure, give hope to patients in waiting while sharing his story.
