Embargo Sees Girl Die As Dialysis Runs Out

Human Rights Report No. 314

Summary: 19-year-old girl dies when hospital runs out of dialysis solution due to ongoing economic embargo.

Date of incident: March 1st, 2007

Place: Qira village, Salfit

Witnesses: family members

Contact details: IWPS withholds this information as a courtesy to those involved – we will do our best to furnish you with all the relevant information you might need to begin action.

Description of incident:

On March 1st, 2007, a 19-year-old girl named Olfat with kidney problems from Qira village died after her parents were forced to dilute her dialysis liquid.

Due to the West and Israel's ongoing economic embargo of the Palestinian Authority, state hospitals have been unable to receive adequate medical supplies for over a year. When they began to run out of the necessary 4.25% dextrose concentration (D-C) in mid-February, Olfat's parents began mixing it with 1.5% D-C liquid. In less than two weeks, Olfat, who had been receiving successful dialysis treatment for more than ten years, began to show signs of deterioration as her body absorbed rather than processed incoming water. They first went to Salfit hospital because Al-Watani Hospital in Nablus was under siege during Israel’s February-March 2007 Nablus "Hot Winter" Invasion. By the time Olfat was able to reach Al-Watani, her chest was so full of water that she was past the point of recovery, and died shortly thereafter.

Qira villagers suffer from a disproportionately high percentage of kidney failure, likely due to the stagnant water that villagers are forced to purchase from Israel while nearby Ariel settlement enjoys disproportionate amounts of the region's fresh water. Olfat is just one of many kidney patients who've died since the embargo began.

Report written by: Anna

Edited by: Andjelka

Date of report: April 5, 2007

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