Medical milestone as 17-day-old baby undergoes lifesaving dialysis in Kisumu

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is becoming increasingly common among critically ill newborns.[Shutterstock]

For five agonising days, a newborn baby did not pass urine. The infant, only 17 days old, had already survived birth and been discharged home. But what should have been a period of bonding and recovery quickly turned into a medical emergency.

As the baby’s condition worsened, doctors at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu discovered that the newborn had developed acute kidney injury (AKI), a potentially fatal condition in which the kidneys suddenly stop functioning properly.