NARAYANA HEALTH CITY ORGANIZES INTERACTIVE SESSION FOR PATIENTS, KIDNEY DONORS AND DOCTORS

Bangalore, 13^th March 2014: As a prelude to World Kidney Day observed on March 13 worldwide, Institute of Kidney Disease and Transplantation at Narayana Health City today organized a unique interactive session for kidney patients, donors and doctors. Transplant recipients and kidney donors attended the meet, interacting with doctors and sharing their experience about life after a transplant. Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Health was present on the occasion and released a book titled ‘Second Heart’ authored by Dr. Sandeep Huligal.

The session started with an introductory talk by Dr. Lloyd Vincent, HOD and Senior Consultant Nephrologist, Narayana Health City with the focus on this year’s theme – ‘Chronic Kidney Disease and aging’.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can develop at any age but becomes common with increasing age. Chronic kidney failure is associated with complications, which are debilitating and impose a serious detriment to quality of life. The change can be brought about with large awareness campaign promoting preventive behaviors, facilitate early screening of people with diabetes and hypertension, so as to prevent early onset of dialysis in India.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Lloyd Vincent, said, “Kidney disease is a silent killer and the need-of- the-hour is to promote preventive measures, encourage early screening and stimulate positive thinking about organ donation and transplantation.â€

He further added, “Renal diseases are fairly common in people with diabetes, but unfortunately, the nature of disease is such that most people have no symptoms until it is has progressed to an advanced stage.â€

Kidney donors and transplant recipients were the real life heroes at the event, who came together and shared their experiences, in a hope to help others manage the challenge. The transplant recipients gave insights about how they lead lives after transplantation. The educative programme also showcased the innovations in screening for kidney disease by with taking images of the retina, which can detect signs of renal diseases through the eye. The programme concluded with a talk by Dr. Rammohan Bhat, and Dr. Krishna Kishore, Consultant Nephrologist, Narayana Health City who spoke about combating the rise in kidney disease.

Narayana Health City had recently conducted screening camps to stress on the aspect that Eye Screening can help detect Kidney disease at an early stage, especially in elderly diabetic patients. The aim of the event was to raise awareness, encourage prevention and educate people about various aspects of kidney disease, proper diagnosis and treatment.

The World Kidney Day aims to increase awareness and promote this life-saving procedure and the donors who make it possible. About 1 in 10 people suffer from some form of kidney damage and every year, millions die prematurely of complications related to kidney. Today, diabetic involvement of the kidney (diabetic nephropathy) represents a major and growing health problem among the elderly. According to a recent study, diabetic nephropathy is found in 40% of diabetic patients and 10% will progress to dialysis or kidney transplantation.