AN extra life-saving kidney unit is to be opened in the region.

Patients who rely on regular kidney dialysis to stay alive often have to travel long distances. Now, a cash injection of £620,000 from the Department of Health will mean a new 12-bed kidney dialysis centre is to be opened in County Durham.

Announcing the extra cash, during National Transplant Week, Health Minister Jacqui Smith said: "This £620,000 funding will help us establish a new renal unit in Durham with 12 dialysis stations, and is a major step towards meting the national target.

"Dialysis saves lives, but can involve people spending up to four hours on a kidney machine, three times a week. The creation of these new dialysis stations is good news for hundreds of County Durham people who can now look forward to services closer to home."

The new unit at the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City, is one of eight being created across the country, at an overall cost of £9m.

"There are more than 25,000 people nationally who are either receiving dialysis, or living with a transplanted kidney,"said the minister.

The Government aims to increase the number of dialysis places by 450 within the next three years.

A National Service Framework on Renal Services, which will set national standards and provide a blueprint for the development and improvement of services for kidney patients over the next decade, is expected to be published next year.