In an effort to raise awareness about kidney-related illnesses on World Kidney Day on March 13, nephrologists from Kauvery Hospital on Wednesday called for annual screening for school and college students to pick up the silent disease prevalent among the population, given huge number number of chronic renal failure cases in India.
Speaking at The Hindu Wellness webinar on Understanding Kidney Health, they said that close to 20% of Indian population suffers from a kidney ailment, and in 60% of the cases, out of the organ’s functioning had stopped even before the symptoms showed up.
J. Balasubramaniam, Chief Transplant and Interventional Nephrologist, Kauvery Hospital, Tirunelveli, underlined the need to recognise the possibility of early damage to the kidneys.
“It is both a wonderful and a wretched organ. Wonderful because it does more than a filtering job of clearing the blood of wastes and excess water while maintaining the internal balance in the body. Wretched, because it has enough reserves and adapts to functional loss making us ignore it,” he said.
Speaking on ‘Renal Transplants – Insights and Advancements’, T. Rajarajan, Senior Consultant and Head – Interventional Transplant Nephrologist, in Trichy, said, “There is an urgent need for major efforts to develop preventive and therapeutic measures that are effective in handling the situation.” He added that more than 2.5lakh individuals are suffering from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in which renal transplant becomes the only life saving option.
P. Muthu Kumar, the Clinical Lead and Senior Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, said while dialysis doesn’t cure the disease, it is required lifelong to improve quality of life. However, a transplant makes normal life possible to a patient.
R. Balasubramaniyam, Chief Nephrologist, in his talk on CKD and its medical management focussed on some common symptoms such as swollen feet, low or high urine output and pain while passing urine and high blood pressure.
To watch the full webinar, visit: https://bit.ly/41L9FiG
Published – March 13, 2025 12:57 am IST
