Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam late Thursday unveiled a mobile dialysis unit at Manipal Hospital in this tech hub to provide the facility at an ailing patient's doorstep.

As against the practice of patients with kidney ailments going to hospital for dialysis, the air-conditioned mobile unit can be taken to homes of those ailing and unable to travel or prefer the treatment at their house.

'The mobile dialysis unit can also be driven to smaller hospitals and nursing homes where such facilities are not available, allowing an ailing patient to get treatment closer home than moving from one hospital to other,' Manipal health system chief executive Rajen Padukone said on the occasion.

Lauding the private hospital for the 'dialysis at your doorstep' initiative, Kalam said the facility would provide patients needing regular dialysis to undertake the treatment in the comfort of their own homes.

'The mobile unit will be a great boon and relief to many ailing patients who are unable to move from place to place for regular dialysis. Senior citizens, physically challenged and those suffering from chronic pain will benefit from such a modern facility,' Kalam said.

Though about 200,000 people suffer from severe kidney failure annually in India, the treatment options are either long-term dialysis or kidney transplantation.

'We have initiated the mobile dialysis unit to help the very frail, as only an estimated 10 percent of patients with severe kidney failure receive any form of treatment while about 90 percent die an agonizing death,' Padukone said.

The mobile unit has clinical, technical and support staff needed for dialysis. It is also equipped with purified water for the procedure, UPS back-up and a state-of-the-art machine to run quality dialysis and to manage emergencies.

'The machine and accompanying accessories can be moved into homes and patients can receive the treatment along the bedside,' Padukone added.