New Delhi, Aug 1 : A total of 1,704 centres dialysis centres are operational till June 30 in India, said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav on Friday.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Jadhav said that the dialysis centres, under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme (PMNDP), are operational in 751 districts in 36 states.

"There is a total of 1,704 centres operational as of June 30,' Jadhav said.

He informed that the government has recommended setting up of haemodialysis centres in all the district hospitals initially and on saturation scale down till the Community Health Centres (CHCs) at the taluka level.

This is done by the states/UTs as per the dialysis demand and gap assessment.

'National Health Mission (NHM) supports States/UTs in implementation of Haemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis services under PMNDP programme based on the gap assessment done by the State/UTs through the annual Programme Implementation Plans. States/UTs are financially supported for establishing dialysis services to all the population of the States/UTs, including in remote and tribal areas,' the MoS said.

PMNDP, launched in 2016, provides free dialysis services to the poor. There are 12,028 haemodialysis machines, and about 28.50 lakh patients in the country have availed dialysis services. Under the programme, 355.46 lakh haemodialysis sessions have also been held.

Kidney diseases are a public health concern in India, especially because the prevalence has risen from 11.2 per cent (2011-2017) to 16.38 per cent (2018-2023) among individuals aged 15 and above.

According to a recent study, published in the journal Nephrology, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is particularly severe in rural areas, where 15.34 per cent of the population is affected compared to 10.65 per cent in urban areas.

CKD occurs when the kidneys gradually lose their ability to filter waste from the blood.

/IANS