Scandalous stories about the procurement of hemodialysis supplies in various regions of Ukraine have, unfortunately, long become commonplace for both the media and patients themselves.
Every year, two or three companies compete for the title of the region's leading supplier of hemodialysis products. Typically, these are the established companies Fresenius or Gambra. Very rarely does another supplier even manage to participate in the bidding, let alone win. All of this is the result of the establishment and strengthening of a long-standing monopoly, or more accurately, oligopoly, in the hemodialysis market.
Introductory
The Fresenius Group of Companies is headed by the controversial businessman Vladimir Podvorny, who doesn't shy away from exploiting patients in bidding wars and organizing paid public organizations to stage rallies and provoke protests. He typically bids on behalf of Renart LLC and TTV-Dom LLC.
Leonid Fainblat heads the Gambra Group of Companies. Unlike Podvorny, he prefers not to blackmail potential buyers of his products (local authorities) with paid "patient" rallies. However, he often plays unfairly, entering into bidding with LLCs like Rumed and Dialservis. One LLC typically sets a slightly higher price, and as a result of the sham competition, the other wins.
The first signs of the hemodialysis wars beginning in Zaporizhzhia appeared about a month ago. This was due to the decision by the Zaporizhzhia Regional Hospital to replace its Fresenius artificial kidney machines with those from another manufacturer, Nipro (supplied by Dialservice LLC, part of the Lev Fainblat Group).
Rallies of "patients" began to gather outside the hospital and the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration building, demanding that the Fresenius devices not be touched, as they supposedly only trust them.
No one has any illusions that the activists were picketing out of a deep passion. Volodya Podvorny began practicing his now familiar and familiar blackmailing strategy against local authorities, manipulating patients and risking their lives.
The scandal escalated at an unprecedented rate. A few people later, the same Podvorny activists claimed that "five patients had already died from the new hemodialysis machines" (Nipro) at the hospital!
This manipulation had the effect Fresenius desired. The prosecutor's office now joined in the pressure on the hospital and the Regional State Administration. Without any discussion of who was right, who was wrong, or how the machines could even theoretically "kill" patients, the valiant law enforcement officers reported opening a criminal case.
It will soon turn out that there were no five deaths, that only one woman died, and her tragic end for her family had nothing to do with the hemodialysis machine... But all that will come later. The main thing is that Podvorny once again played dirty on human grief, and tried to turn one family's pain into his own business gain.
As a matter of fact
Our editorial team approached the study of all the circumstances of the incident with the utmost responsibility.
We asked the hospital to explain why it decided to replace the Fresenius devices with others.
And I must say that we received a very convincing answer, or rather, a document.
It turns out that the Fresenius machines that were installed at the Zaporizhzhia Regional Hospital have long been unusable. One of them is 34 years old (!).
Another device was manufactured in 1999, there are also ones manufactured in 1998, and the “youngest” one is manufactured in 2012.
That is, the devices that “paid patients” were so worried about and demanded to be treated with, ultimately turned out to be completely inoperative.
The region's governor, Konstantin Bril, further clarified what was happening.
According to him, when the government approached Fresenius with a request to replace outdated and unserviceable machines and open new hemodialysis centers, Vladimir Podvorny refused.
"A few words about equipment. At the time, the previous supplier, Fresenius, had old equipment, and the water treatment system was poor. I proposed to their representatives in other districts of the region to open additional hemodialysis centers. Four in total. The supplier declined. I invited another supplier, Nipro, to open four centers: one in Tokmak, which we've already launched; one in Melitopol, which we'll launch on Tuesday; one in Berdyansk, which is already operational; and we're planning to open one in Energodar. I want to make life easier for patients," the governor said.
In fact, Fresenius demanded that the authorities “buy new equipment from him, otherwise there will be rallies and deaths.”
But in reality, the situation in our country is that suppliers rarely sell equipment, but rather supply it to hospitals as humanitarian aid. In exchange, they receive a certain degree of stability in government procurement for consumables that are specifically compatible with the "unique kidneys" they supply.
Summary
Fresenius and its leader, Podvorny, exploit patients to push the authorities toward their desired bidding and tender outcomes. Podvorny builds his business on the misfortunes of others, while endangering hundreds of real lives by blocking hemodialysis procurement not only through rallies and protests, but also through baseless appeals to the Antimonopoly Committee.
If all governors were brave enough to speak out about this openly, rather than giving in to blackmail, the quality of treatment for patients with kidney failure would likely be much higher, and the procedures themselves more accessible.
Oleg Boyko
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