(原文刊載於ISN部落格，台灣腎友生活品質促進協會編譯)

作者：Giuseppe Remuzzi

國際腎臟醫學會(ISN)主席、腎臟學教授、義大利Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo 醫院免疫及臨床移植部腎臟病及透析科主任

John Feehally 最近和一位來自敘利亞的年輕腎臟科醫師通信，這位醫師幾個月前到他的醫院受訓後又回到敘利亞，我從John那裏聽到關於敘利亞的慘烈局勢。我們都在新聞畫面上看到戰爭的可怕後果，而且看起來還沒有到頭的一天。

I was recently adjourned?by John Feehally – who had a mail exchange with fellow nephrologists from Syria – about the desperate and tragic situation in the country. We have all seen the news broadcasts that describe the terrible consequences of a war that does not seem to come to an end.

然而，聽到腎臟科同仁在敘利亞想辦法維持透析醫療是如此困難，更讓我感到震驚。過去提供許多患者透析治療的北敘利亞透析中心，已經關閉了。

However, it is very shocking to learn how difficult it is for our colleagues to try to keep going their dialysis services and providing treatment for many patients. Dialysis centers in the Northern regions of Syria, that used to provide treatment for many patients, were shut down.

持續運作的透析中心，則是面對物資嚴重缺乏，以及透析機過度使用卻沒有零件可供更換維修的困境。物資和耗材的費用一直在升高，當然顯而易見的是因為戰爭的關係。電力和水供應經常中斷，更是讓透析治療難以持續。

The remaining ones are facing severe lack of supply and spare parts of dialysis machines, which are overused due to the congestions of the functioning facilities. The cost of supply and consumable is increasing, as it happens in war for obvious reasons. Electricity and water supply is often interrupted, making the dialysis impossible to carry on.

這些困境的後果就是，需要持續透析治療的病人正在死亡，不時發生的械鬥或衝突讓他們無法前往透析中心。我們在敘利亞的同仁無法給我們死亡病人的確切數據，但我們不難想像在那種情況下，要做任何數據統計都非常困難。

The consequences of all of this is that patients on regular dialysis are dying because they cannot reach the dialysis centers, because of the fighting. The Syrian colleagues cannot provide detailed data on the number of deaths, but we have no difficulty in thinking that any number would be in defect.

身為公民以及腎臟科醫師，我們有數以千計的理由痛恨戰爭和戰爭販子，而對於脆弱的腎臟病患者需要持續支持性治療，則是最強烈的原因之一。

Among the thousands of reasons why, we as citizens and physicians despise and hate war and warmongers, the unique vulnerability of renal patients is one of the strongest.