Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) donated advanced equipment worth Rs 21 lakh to District Government Wenlock Hospital on Wednesday.

In a brief ceremony convened at the hospital premises, a dialysis machine worth Rs 6.5 lakh and a laser therapy machine worth Rs 15 lakh were handed over to the District Medical Officer Dr J Prabhudev.

Usually 70-80 kidney patients undergo dialysis every month in the Wenlock Hospital, but this year as many as 170-180 patients have benefited the facility on monthly basis.

Laser therapy is used to diagnose diabetic retinopathy, which a severe consequence of diabetes. There are chances where patients may lose their vision all of a sudden. For treatments, the patients were being sent to private hospitals till now, where the treatment cost around Rs 5,000- Rs 6,000.

With the addition of the new equipment, the Wenlock Hospital will provide treatments to such patients at low cost.

BPL card holders will avail them free of cost, the hospital authorities informed.

MRPL Associate Vice-President (HR) S S Hegde and Deputy General Manager (HR) Santhosh Kumar Kadri handed over the equipments.

KMC Dean Dr Raghuveer, Wenlock Ophthalmology department professor Dr Manjunath Kamath, KMC Vice Dean Dr M V Prabhu were present on the occasion.