Colombo, March 14th, 2019 – Western Hospital Colombo to commemorate World Kidney Day which falls on Thursday the 14th of March, has organized an awareness walk and programme. Schedule to commence at 7 am at the hospital premises in Borella, the programme will also include free consultations till two in the afternoon.
Western Hospital has always been in the forefront of kidney treatment, providing quality longevity of life for patients that have end-stage kidney disease, with the longest running kidney transplant program in Sri Lanka. The first kidney transplant in Sri Lanka was performed at Western Hospital in 1985 and since then the hospital has successfully completed over 1000 transplants.
World Kidney Day is commemorated on the second Thursday of March each year, with the theme for World Kidney Day 2019 being Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere. The Day is used to create global awareness and bring global attention to the importance of kidney health. It is further used to educated on the importance of managing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and to encourage kidney donation. Kidney transplants are the most effective way of helping people suffering with kidney failure.
Established in 2006 it is a joint venture between the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF). According to statistics, 850 million people worldwide are estimated to have kidney diseases originating from various causes. It is further the cause of at least 2.4 million deaths per year, with CKD being considered as the 6th fastest growing cause of death.
In Sri Lanka, over the past two decades or so, CKDu or Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown aetiology, has become a major health issue and an increasing burden on the Sri Lankan healthcare system. CKDu is not associated with the conventional risk factors of diabetes and hypertension. The growing number is especially among male rural farmers and agricultural labourers between the ages 15-70 years. However, there has been a growing number of women and children affected by CKDu. Towards the end of 2018, the Government of Sri Lanka set up prevention and welfare programs for patients and their families as well as establishing 500 water purification systems, all of which has resulted in a significant annual decrease in the number of kidney patients.
As one of the premier treatment providers for CKD in Sri Lanka, Western Hospital always takes a keen interest and responsibility towards creating awareness on CKD and in maintaining the latest equipment, knowledge and expertise for kidney transplants and dialysis treatments. Further Western Hospital is also recognised for its exceptional post kidney transplant care services which has been successful in aiding speedy recovery for patients across the globe. Patients under the Western Hospital care receive continuous observation and treatment for transplants at every stage of the process.