Advancing Nephrology Around the World

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

03 News in brief The ISN blog and the new headquarters

04 WKD 2012 Raising awareness about kidney

transplantation and donation

07 Transplant patient story UK Kidney Alliance Fiona Loud

08 Getting the doctor’s perspective on transplantation worldwide

09 BC Renal agency focuses on

the dangers of organ traffi cking

10 Meeting the new KI editor and celebrating 40 years of the journal

11 ISN GO SRC Program: successful

transplants in Russia and CIS States

12 Continuous education ISN GO CME Program in Africa

13 YNC Transplant for Tomorrow Program in China

15 Out and about upcoming ISN events for 2012

AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY

Kidney transplantation give, receive for life

ISN NEWS 40 February 2012

The last 50 years have seen the development of new medications and approaches -

improving the lives of kidney transplant recipients. The importance of including

transplantation as a treatment option for all cannot be overstated. Nonetheless,

the legacy of transplantation is unfortunately threatened by organ traffi cking and

transplant tourism. The Word Health Organization reported that this is the case

in up to 10% of the 100,000 organ transplants performed annually.

Moreover, the success of transplantation as a life-saving treatment does not

require or justify victimizing the world’s poor as the source of organs for the rich.

The Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Traffi cking and Transplant Tourism provides

professionals with the principles to assist in combating these activities. It describes

universal approaches to provide care for living donors and emphasizes the need for

effective activities that support organ donation from dead donors (www.dicg.org).

Supporting the declaration’s principles in all education, research and clinical

activities is essential. Together, ISN and the Transplantation Society (TTS) have

created the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG). DICG is helping

disseminate the declaration to professional societies, national health authorities,

universities and institutions responsible for medical education, pharmaceutical

companies and governments.

Kidney transplantation is an important component

of the continuum of care for patients living with kidney

disease, and can be offered to many worldwide

through combined efforts directed at both living

and deceased donors. The nobility of this act of giving

is the ultimate philanthropy.

Adeera Levin - ISN Secretary General

Kidney transplantation offering hope

EDITORIALISN Leadership 2011-2013

Executive Committee John Feehally (United Kingdom) - President

Bernardo Rodríguez-Iturbe (Venezuela) - Past President

Giuseppe Remuzzi (Italy) - President Elect

Adeera Levin (Canada) - Secretary General

Victor Schuster (USA) - Treasurer

David Harris (Australia) - Publications Committee Chair

Gavin Becker (Australia) - Council Representative

Toshio Miyata (Japan) - Council Representative

William Couser (USA) - Presidential Appointee

Vivekanand Jha (India) - Presidential Appointee

Council

Africa

Boucar Diouf (Senegal)

Maher Fouad Ramzy (Egypt)

Asia/Pacifi c

Sanjay Agarwal (India)

Vivekanand Jha (India)

Gavin Becker (Australia)

Somchai Eiam-Ong (Thailand)

Peter Kerr (Australia)

Suhnggwon Kim (Republic of Korea)

Zhi Hong Liu (China)

Toshio Miyata (Japan)

Rezvi Sheriff (Sri Lanka)

Chih-Wei Yang (Taiwan)

Europe

Jorge Cannata-Andía (Spain)

Dick de Zeeuw (The Netherlands)

Kai-Uwe Eckardt (Germany)

Meguid El Nahas (United Kingdom)

Francesco Locatelli (Italy)

Laszlo Rosivall (Hungary)

Peter Stenvinkel (Sweden)

Irma Tchokonelidze (Georgia)

Latin America

Ana Cusumano (Argentina)

Juan Fernández-Cean (Uruguay)

Marta Franco (Mexico)

Sergio A. Mezzano (Chile)

Middle East

Mona Nasir Airukhaimi (United Arab Emirates)

North America

Roland Blantz (USA)

Alfred Cheung (USA)

Allison Eddy (USA)

Agnes Fogo (USA)

Bertram Kasiske (USA)

Susan Quaggin (Canada)

Marcello Tonelli (Canada)

ISN Committee Chairs Acute Kidney Injury Committee - Ravindra Mehta (USA)

Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee - Gavin Becker (Australia)

Dialysis Committee - Nathan Levin, Fredric Finkelstein (USA)

Forefronts Committee - Kai-Uwe Eckardt, (Germany)

History of Nephrology Committee - Leon Fine (USA)

Interventional Nephrology Committee - Miguel Riella (Brazil)

Nexus Committee - Kumar Sharma (USA)

Nominating Committee - Rashad Barsoum (Egypt)

Publications Committee - David Harris (Australia)

Renal Disaster Relief Task Force - Raymond Vanholder (Belgium)

Renal Pathology Advisory Committee - Agnes Fogo (USA)

Young Nephrologists Committee - Roberto Pecoits-Filho (Brazil)

ISN GO Committee Chairs ISN GO Core Committee - William Couser (USA)

CME Program - Norbert Lameire (Belgium)

Education Ambassador Program - Saraladevi Naicker (South Africa)

Fellowship Committee - David Harris (Australia)

Kidney Health in Disadvantaged Populations Committee - Guillermo

Garcia Garcia (Mexico)

Research and Prevention Committee - Giuseppe Remuzzi (Italy)

Sister Renal Center Program Committee - Paul Harden (UK)

ISN GO Regional Committees Africa Committee - Omar Abboud (Sudan)

East Asia Committee - HaiYan Wang (China)

Eastern and Central Europe Committee - Laszlo Rosiwal (Hungary)

Latin America Committee - Ricardo Correa Rotter (Mexico)

Middle East Committee - Riyad Said (Jordan)

Oceania & South-East Asia Committee - Peter Kerr (Australia)

Russia and CIS Committee - Elena Zakharova (Russia)

South Asia Committee - Georgi Abraham (India)

ISN News

Published by ISN

Staff Editor: Sally Horspool

ISN Executive Director: Luca Segantini

The contents of this publication are

compiled in good faith. The publisher

accepts no responsibility for omissions

or errors.

Global

Operations Center

Rue des Fabriques, 1

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

Tel: +32 2 808 04 20

Fax: +32 2 808 4454

US

Operations Center

340 North Avenue 3rd Floor

Cranford, New Jersey

Tel: +1 567 248 703

Fax: +1 908 272 7101

Design www.landmarks.be Email: info@theisn.org URL: www.theisn.org

ISN Corporate Members

ISN acknowledges our corporate members for their contributions.

Adeera Levin is Professor

of Medicine and Head of the

Nephrology Division at the

University of British Columbia

in Vancouver, Canada and

a consultant nephrologist

based at St Paul’s Hospital,

Providence Health Care.

ISN New address

News in brief

ISN News 40 | February 2012

New address for ISN headquarters

This year marks a new era for ISN as the Society becomes

a stand-alone Society, after several years of collaboration with

association management partners.

Starting 2012, ISN will manage its activities from its own offi ces in

Brussels, Belgium and the United States. This transition will not

affect ISN members directly but it will improve their over-

all membership experience – bringing them closer to

those involved in managing the ISN programs and

events.

The only important information to remember is the

address of ISN’s headquarters in Brussels. As of January

1st, 2012, all correspondence should be directed to one of these

addresses:

International Society of Nephrology

Global Operations (all ISN services and communications)

Rue des Fabriques, 1

1000 Brussels – Belgium

Tel: +32 2 808 04 20

Fax: +32 2 808 4454

E-mail: info@theisn.org

International Society of Nephrology

US Operations (ISN fi nances and membership services)

340 North Avenue 3rd Floor

Cranford, New Jersey 07016-2496

United States of America

Tel: +1 567 248 703

Fax: +1 908 272 7101

E-mail: info@theisn.org

Start blogging with ISN

ISN is happy to announce the launch of the new ISN blog. You can

access the blog straight away at www.theisn.org/isn-blog and

start a discussion.

From now on you can stay updated on what ISN leaders are up to

as they take part in the ISN Global Outreach (GO) Programs or

other meetings and events worldwide.

ISN President John Feehally, ISN Secretary General Adeera Levin,

ISN GO Chair William Couser and ISN GO Continuing Medical

Education Program Chair Norbert Lameire have already started

blogging about their recent trips representing ISN in developing

countries and their involvement in raising awareness about kidney

disease.

If you would like to start blogging for the ISN, let us know how you

are helping advance kidney care worldwide, please contact: Sally

Horspool at shorspool@theisn.org

3

Next month World Kidney Day (WKD) will set out to raise awareness about the amazing life-changing potential of kidney transplantation. On March 8, 2012, medical and patient communities, politicians, corporations, charitable organizations and the general public will tell the world about the benefi ts of kidney transplantation. WKD will explore the real potential of transforming kidney transplantation into a routine form of treatment for early stage renal disease patients worldwide.

Kidney transplantation and donation give, receive for all

Why choose kidney transplantation?Kidney transplantation is one of the biggest advances

in modern medicine, helping patients with irreversible kidney

failure lead a better life for longer. Once seen as experimental,

risky and very limited, it is now routine clinical practice in

more than 80 countries. The largest number of transplants are

performed in the United States, China, Brazil and India, while

the greatest population access to transplantation is in Austria,

United States, Croatia, Norway, Portugal and Spain.

Kidney transplantation when properly applied is therefore

the treatment of choice for patients with advanced chronic

kidney disease because of lower costs and better outcomes.

Better diagnosis, the global epidemic of type 2 diabetes

and other causes of chronic disease mean that the number

of potential candidates for renal replacement therapy worldwide

is growing rapidly.

Dialysis costs are expensive even for developed countries.

The majority of patients starting dialysis for early stage renal

disease (ESDR) in low-income countries die or stop treatment

within the first three months of initiating dialysis. Maintaining

hemodialysis varies in cost by country and healthcare system.

In Pakistan, it is reported to cost US $1,680 per year, which

is beyond the reach of most of the population without

humanitarian financial aid.

What are you doing on World Kidney Day

this year?http://www.worldkidneyday.org/

Is it accessible to all? In some developing countries, transplantation takes lower

priority than clean water, sanitation and vaccination. There also

continues to be fi nancial limitations to this form of treatment.

Most kidney patients and their families in the resource-poor

environment cannot afford the high cost immunosuppressant

drugs and antiviral medication needed to reduce the risk of graft

loss or mortality.

In high-income countries, the technical challenges of surgery

and the consequences of immunosuppressive drugs restrict the

number of suitable recipients. However, the major problem is the

shortage of donated organs and trained medical, surgical and

nursing workforces with the required expertise. World Kidney Day

is a call to mobilize and deliver transplantation therapy to the one

million people a year who have a right to benefi t.

4

“Early detection and prevention programs will never prevent early

stage renal disease in every patient with CKD. Kidney transplantation is an essential, viable, cost-effective

and life-saving therapy, which should be equally available to all people

who need it. We urge all WKD 2012 participants to help spread this

message to governments, all health authorities and the public across the

world on March 8, 2012”

Improving transplantation opportunitiesLiving and deceased donations are now recognized by the World

Health Organization as critical to the capacity of nations to develop

self-suffi cient organ transplantation programs. No country in the

world generates suffi cient organs from these sources to meet the

needs of their citizens. Austria, USA, Croatia, Norway, Portugal

and Spain stand out as countries with high rates of deceased

organ donors. Most developed countries are trying to emulate

their success. A return to donation after cardiac death instead of

the current donation after brain death has enhanced the deceased

organ donation numbers in several countries.

The Transplantation Society has established the Global Alliance for

Transplantation to reduce worldwide disparities in transplantation.

The program includes collecting global information, expanding

education in transplantation and developing guidelines for organ

donation and transplantation. The ISN and TTS have pledged

to work together, coordinating joint global outreach programs to

help establish and grow appropriate kidney transplant programs

in low and middle-income countries using their considerable

joint expertise.

The ISN Global Outreach (GO) Programs have catalysed the

development of kidney transplant programs across a large number

of countries with targeted fellowship training and created long-term

institutional links between developed and developing transplant

centers through the ISN GO Sister Renal Center Program. This

has led to successful kidney transplantations in countries such as

Armenia, Ghana and Nigeria where none existed before and has

expanded existing programs in Belarus, Lithuania and Tunisia. ●

Facts about transplantation

The fi rst successful organ transplantation was a kidney

transplant on identical twins performed in Boston on

December 23, 1954.

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for ESRD

in suitable candidates, in both high and medium-income

countries. It may be the only tenable long-term treatment

option for ESRD in low-income countries. It is cheaper and

provides a better outcome for patients than other forms

of renal replacement therapy.

Ethnic minorities and disadvantaged populations continue

to suffer worse outcomes. Aboriginal Canadian patients

are reported to have lower 10-year patient and graft

survival when compared with white patients. African

American kidney transplant recipients have shorter graft

survival compared to Asian, and Hispanic populations.

ISN News 40 | February 2012

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ISN FOREFRONTSSYMPOSIUM 2012TUBULOINTERSTITIAL DISEASE IN DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY OCTOBER 4-7, 2012MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA

Advancing Nephrology Around the World

For more information

www.isnforefronts.org/2012/melbourne

Sessions will focus on:

Co-Chairs

April 13, 2012

June 22, 2012

Having a kidney transplant was life changing for Fiona Loud. She reveals how positivity can stem from a very diffi cult time. Now, through the UK Kidney Alliance, Fiona raises awareness about kidney health, the benefi ts of transplantation and the importance of signing up to the Organ Donor Register.

Fiona started dialysis when her kidneys failed after a genetic

condition went undetected. She underwent peritoneal dialysis

at home, then developed peritonitis and started hemodialysis.

This meant that she had to go to the hospital for treatment three

times a week.

“In the fi rst year, I continued to work receiving lots of support from

my employer. With two young children, these were diffi cult times

balancing work, a family and a social life while undergoing dialysis.

It required a lot of forward thinking and organization. I felt like

I could not enjoy life as I should.”

Five years ago, she received a kidney from her husband. After the

operation, she instantly had more energy. “I felt I had been set

free. The years on dialysis were frustrating. I considered this time

as a lost decade during which I lived half a life. You cope with it

because you have to and don’t realize how bad it is until it gets

better, you simply adjust to it.”

In the fi rst instance, diet and nutrition became much easier and

straightforward. On dialysis, most fruits and vegetables were out

of the question. “I had to cook for my children but didn’t feel like

eating any of it. It was hard to fi nd something without potassium

that I wanted to eat and it was defi nitively a struggle going out for

a meal – that was not enjoyable anymore.”

“With the transplant, I could go back to this lifestyle and return

to work which was something I really wanted to do.”

Being part of the UK Kidney Alliance, Fiona has also gotten to

know the renal community and helped raise awareness about

kidney health, transplantation and organ donation. “It has been

exciting to get involved and lead the different teams that make up

the organization. I really believe in the importance of letting people

know about prevention and encouraging them to get onto the

donor register.”

A kidney patient’s story

In the UK, at least one person dies every day while waiting for a

kidney. A third of donations come from living donors. About four

years ago, the European Union set out to harmonize guidelines for

transplantation and organ donation. However the initial proposals

would have inadvertently discouraged living donation in the

UK. The UK Kidney Alliance worked successfully to amend the

proposals, so that the robust ethical living donor program in the

UK could continue.

“By telling my story, I can advocate the benefi ts of transplantation

and present this issue to members of Parliament. For World Kidney

Day 2012, the UK Kidney Alliance will organize a reception in the

UK Parliament to raise awareness about the challenges facing

kidney care, kidney transplantation and donation and recommend

forward thinking actions.” For information on the UK World Kidney

Day celebrations, visit: www.worldkidneyday.co.uk ●

“With the transplant, I could go back to this lifestyle and return to work which was something I really

wanted to do.”

ISN News 40 | February 2012

Fio

na L

oud and

the WKD Ham

mersmith team at Westfi eld shopping center UK.

7

The doctor’s perspectiveWhat do ISN representatives and partners think about transplantation today?

“Kidney transplantation is the most

viable renal replace ment option in

India due to the young age of early

stage renal disease patients and lack

of dialysis facilities outside major

cities. Between 5,500 and 6,000

transplants are performed every year

but challenges continue to include

financial issues and lack of an

organized deceased donor transplant

program.

Things have started to change. The

government is in the process of

drafting a National Organ Transplant

Policy, hoping to set up a countrywide

network for organ retrieval and

sharing. This has already seen an

increase in organ retrieval rates in

several states.

The Organ Transplant Act was

amended in 2011 to increase the

efficiency of organ retrieval from

deceased donors and promote ethical

living donor transplantation. It has

now helped put in place transplant

coordinators and established a

transplant registry for recipients and

donors to increase transparency and

improve outcomes. Several states

have instituted insurance schemes

for the poor sections of society, which

will remove the financial barrier.”

Vivek Jha is ISN Councilor, Executive

Committee Member and member

of the ISN India Committee ●

“Today transplantation is available

in 80 countries worldwide, but

does not meet the needs of the

community in any of them. Organ

donation is insufficient in all, but

in most emerging economies

there are too few trained surgeons,

physicians and nurses. In many

countries, dialysis is simply too costly

so prevention and transplantation are

key to saving lives.

It is vital to encourage deceased

organ donation and have the trained

staff in transplant programs across

the communities. The Transplantation

Society and ISN have recently

extended our collaborative agreement

so we can work together on programs

such as ISN Global Outreach to

identify and train doctors in the

developing world, raise awareness

about deceased donation and assist

in establishing new programs.”

Jeremy Chapman is Immediate

Past President of the Transplant

Society (TTS). www.tts.org ●

“The ISN GO SRC Program helped

set up a transplant program in Ghana,

which has now successfully carried

out 11 kidney transplants. We helped

train local staff, set up procedures,

care for patients after the operation

and manage any complications.

Aside from the issues of expertise

and medical resources, there is an

increased risk of infections such as

hepatitis, tuberculosis and HIV.

With no tissue typing available in

many countries, it is important initially

to build the infrastructure for a living

donation program with the support of

an existing transplant center. Once

this is in place, a deceased donor

program can be considered and

established within an appropriate

legal and ethical framework.

It is valuable to build dialogue

between emerging and developed

transplant centers to provide

support throughout the evolution of

a new transplant service. In April,

we are sending a team from Oxford

to Senegal to visit facilities, train

local staff and start a new kidney

transplant center.”

Paul Harden is Chair of the ISN

Global Outreach Sister Renal

Center Program ●

8

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Every year, a number of British Columbians are pursuing black market kidney transplants in countries such as India, China and the Philippines.

In doing so, they may be risking their own lives, and those

of the donors, many of whom are exploited. With the goal

of raising awareness and prompting discussion among care

providers and patients about the dangers and ethics of organ

trafficking and transplant tourism, the BC Renal Agency and

BC Transplant have produced a new brochure called: “Thinking

of Buying a Kidney? Stop! What You Need to Know.”

Available in English, Chinese, Tagalog (Filipino) and Punjabi, copies

of the brochure have been distributed to renal and transplant clinics

across the province. Additional information and an online order form

to request copies are available on the BC Renal Agency’s website

(www.bcrenalagency.ca).

For patients with end stage kidney disease, organ transplantation

provides a vital chance at improved long-term health. While

every effort is made to increase the number of donors for kidney

transplants, demand still far exceeds supply. Lengthy waiting lists,

physical pain and emotional stress can fuel desperation in patients,

leading them to consider having an illegal transplant abroad.

The risks associated with unlawful organ transplants are extensive.

Organ recipients can experience operative and post-operative

complications and even risk death.

Other dangers include:

• Increased risk of infections

• Inaccurate medical records provided by the hospitals

in foreign countries

• Inadequate patient screening and hygiene standards

• Risk of prosecution

• Medical history of organ donors is often unknown

The perils of transplant tourism

are not limited to recipients.

In addition to facing signifi cant

medical risks, paid donors are

often exploited and left worse

off fi nancially, physically and

socially. Coercion, organized

crime and human traffi cking

all play a part in meeting

the demand for illegal organ

transplants.

“Every patient who is faced

with the prospect of waiting

for a kidney transplant is at

risk for transplant tourism.

Clinicians must recognize this

and speak to their patients

about the medical risks and

ethical and moral objections

to transplant tourism,” says

John Gill, Associate Professor

of Medicine at the University

of British Columbia and Vice

President of the Canadian

Society of Nephrology.

Resources are available to care

teams and guide their inter actions

with patients. In addition to the

“Thinking of Buying a Kidney?”

brochure, the Canadian Society

of Transplantation  and the

Canadian Society of Nephrology have endorsed a policy document

on transplant tourism with detailed advice on counseling patients

about organ traffi cking and transplant tourism. ●

BC Renal Agency: highlighting the dangers of organ traffi cking

ISN News 40 | February 2012 9

Keeping the fl ag

fl ying high

It has been 40 years since the fi rst issue of Kidney International

was published. ISN started its publication history with Nephron in

1964. Kidney International, or KI as it has become known, became

its fl agship journal in 1972.

“It was a journal that rapidly became the center of research

in the fi eld. When KI began its publication, renal physiology was the

dominant scientifi c discipline that defi ned nephrology. Many of the

landmark papers of renal physiology and renal pathology appeared

here, thereby defi ning the fi eld as we know it today,” states Qais

Al-Awqati in his last editorial letter as KI Editor in Chief.

Al-Awqati was appointed Editor in Chief when the journal

was redesigned and saw it become “a beautiful journal of

nephrology.” He believes that although the journal has changed

in the last 40 years, its core mission stays the same. “We want to

publish important basic research as well as research performed

on patients. The idea behind KI remains to publish research on the

basic and applied aspect of kidney function in health and disease,”

he adds.

Nephrology has become more and more diverse and touches

upon so many different medical fi elds including genetics and

epidemiology of renal disease, organ transplantation, dialysis,

prevention and treatment of acute and chronic kidney disease.

Secondary problems relating to kidney disease such as bone

and cardiovascular disease have also taken a prominent role

in discussions.

Taking over the reins after Al-Awqati’s six and a half year tenure,

Detlef Schlondorff says that one of the main challenges will be to

maintain an editorial balance between basic and clinical research.

So far, this has been valuable in maintaining the journal’s successful

reputation within the scientifi c community.

The new editorial board will expand both in terms of geographical

and subject representation, refl ecting the ISN community while

covering all issues affecting nephrology. “The most important

feature of the journal is to provide cutting-edge research with

a mix of clinical and basic science, covering all aspects of

nephrology from the basics of molecular and cell biology, genetics

and immunology and translating them from the laboratory to the

clinical care and therapy of the patient. To achieve this, it is also

important to provide appropriate review articles for the nephrology

community at large and give KI readers an overview of the latest

developments in nephrology,” adds Schlondorff.

Recently, KI Supplements have helped cover important subjects

affecting the developing world and have published therapeutic

guidelines such as those developed by KDIGO. Promoting

education will be a common objective for ISN and KI in the future.

Creating an Educational portal on the ISN website will allow direct,

unrestricted online access to selective and important KI articles.

“This will broaden our readership and provide better access to

education resources from KI for medical communities worldwide,”

concludes Schlondorff ●

Celebrating 40 years, KI Editors past and present look forward

to many exciting years ahead.

VOLUME 81 | ISSUE 1 | JANUARY 1 2012

http://kidney-international.com

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY

Podocyte loss and AII blockade

Dendritic cells in rejection

Fruit & vegetables for CKD

New

KI E

dito

r in C

hief

Detl

ef Schlondorff.

Qais Al-Awqati who previo

us

ly ed

ited t

he jo

urn

al.

10

Paul Harden, Chair of the ISN SRC Program recently revealed

how sister center partnerships have grown between Kaunas-

Ghent-Brest and Minsk-Oxford-Saratov - putting strong efforts

into developing more transplant opportunities.

“Trio partnerships between Lithuania and Belarus are working

extremely well. Within 18 months, eight clinicians from Brest

each spent two weeks in Kaunas including nephrologists,

transplant surgeons and vascular access surgeons. The

Minsk-Saratov partnership is also exploring the idea of helping

to establish a transplant program,” he explains. “It’s all going

well and I hope we can help catalyze similar activity across

Russia and other CIS States.” In January, the Minsk team

was in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to carry out the first two joint

transplants in the country.

Last June, a center in Brest, Belarus set up its second Kidney

Transplant Centre. So far, staff at the center has performed

nine transplants with one loss. In the capital Minsk, some 150

transplants were performed in 2011, making a record total

of 159 in Belarus in 2011 compared to 19 in 2006. Since the

Oxford-Minsk partnership started in April 2009, 39 pediatric

kidney transplants have been carried out.

In October, Paul Harden joined the first ISN Regional Workshop

in Russia/CIS region. This meeting resulted from the combined

efforts of the Kaunas-Ghent-Brest and Minsk-Oxford-Saratov

SRC Trios. He traveled with ISN GO Chair William Couser

and ISN GO Continuous Medical Education Chair Norbert

Lameire to promote ISN’s activities and share his knowledge

on transplantation.

“The diversity in participants reflected the energy of the CIS

Regional Committee, the number of new members from

outside the Moscow and St Petersburg circuit and the

increasing awareness of what ISN has, and can, contribute

to enriching nephrology in the region,” says ISN GO Chair

William Couser.

Increasing transplantation opportunities in the developing world is a strong priority for the ISN Global Outreach Sister Renal Center (SRC) Program. Success in carrying out this life-saving procedure is due to the dynamism of trio and traditional partnerships, and the dedication and humanitarian enthusiasm of the clinical teams involved.

SRC: buildingtransplant programs in Russia and CIS States

ISN News 40 | February 2012

“It was truly uplifting to see the number of people attending the

CME and workshop from CIS and the way they were included

and participated. We even had ISN Educational Ambassador

Arthur Cohen there to participate in the CME before starting

his own renal pathology course that ran for most of the week.”

This first Russia/CIS Regional workshop was an excellent

chance to learn more about local issues as they relate to the

ISN GO Programs and pinpoint some of the issues ISN can

focus on to improve opportunities for GO participants. ●

Second

fro

m r

ight: S

RC

Cha

ir Pau

l Har

den

and colleagues from the Minsk sister center.

GO P

rogram leaders and participants at regional w

orkshop.

11

The fi rst ISN GO Regional Workshop

in Africa was organized by the Africa

Regional Committee following the

African Association of Nephrology

(AFRAN) meeting in Dakar, Senegal.

Gathering 90 ISN GO participants it was

a chance to network and develop a plan

to advance nephrology in Africa over

the next two years. Representatives

met past ISN Fellows who set up new

clinical nephrology programs to improve

the knowledge and capacity of local

developing centers.

CME update

ISN CME Program Chair Norbert Lameire kicked off the tour

when he spoke at the Hypertension Teaching Seminar in Maputo,

Mozambique. The country’s Health Minister, Alexandre Manguele

opened the Seminar and welcomed physicians, nurses and post-

graduate students.

William Couser, Omar Abboud, Sarala Naicker and Andre Weigert

joined him for the CME course in Maputo, which followed on

from this event. It gave participants a chance to learn more about

basic clinical nephrology, the global burden of chronic kidney

disease (CKD), nephrotic syndrome, glomerulonephritis and lupus

nephritis. Presentations focused on CKD in Africa, HIV and

other diseases in tropical nephrology. There were also lectures

on pathophysiology, managing hyponatremia and hyperkalemia,

kidney in pregnancy and acute kidney injury.

Former ISN Fellow Aggrey Mweemba, one of the few nephrologists

in Zambia, welcomed the ISN delegation to the following CME

in Lusaka. Mweemba is now Director of the Renal Unit, Consultant

Nephrologist at the University Hospital in Lusaka. Aside from a

successful CME, he organized a visit to the Department of Health

in Zambia where the ISN delegation met with the Ministry of

Health’s Permanent Secretary Peter Mwaba. They talked about

the importance of early detection and prevention programs and

CKD in the overall struggle against chronic non-communicable

diseases in low-income countries.

ISN also visited the wards of an antiretroviral therapy center

that cares for some 8,000 HIV patients. They discussed several

diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of three patients with HIV and

renal problems.

The third Africa CME course was organized in association with

Kenya Renal Association’s Annual Scientifi c meeting in Nairobi.

During the opening ceremony, ISN GO Program Chair William

Couser spoke about the ISN GO Programs and the Society’s

efforts in raising global awareness of kidney disease through

World Kidney Day. He talked about ISN’s recent campaign with the

United Nations at the World Health Organization to get the disease

onto health agendas worldwide.

Omar Abboud lectured on renal replacement therapy in Africa

and his experience with kidney transplantation in Sudan. ISN

Educational Ambassador Program Chair Sarala Naicker spoke

about viral infections in kidney transplantation, glomerular

diseases in HIV infection, and building kidney transplantation

programs in poor resource settings.

For more information, visit the CME page at www.theisn.org ●

ISN

GO

Pro

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hair

Willi

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ouse

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ches at th

e CME course in Zambia.

ISN delegation at CHRESO

art cente

r, Lusa

ka.

ISN

Pas

t Fello

w Aggrey Mweemba at dialysis unit in Lusaka.

ISN CME tours Mozambique, Zambia and Kenya in November 2011

12

YNC Corner

ISN Young Nephrologist Qiquan Sun met Zhi-Hong Liu, President-

Elect of the Chinese Society of Nephrology (CSN), and Haitao

Zhang, Co-Chair of the CSN Young Nephrologist Committee.

Together, they will launch an educational program on transplantation

for local young nephrologists. Several young Chinese nephrologists

have recently completed their training in the US, Europe and

Australia, and have returned to China. “They spark hope for trans-

plantations in China,” said Zhi-Hong Liu who will help provide fi rst

class education for the program candidates.

The Transplant for Tomorrow Program will be part of the ISN

YNC mentorship program and will enroll 10 highly qualifi ed young

professionals. Participants will be trained in communication and

management skills. More importantly, they will be asked to perform

organ transplantations under internationally-recognized procedures

as defi ned by the ISN/Transplant Society (TTS) sponsored

Declaration of Istanbul. The candidates will become future leaders

in the Chinese renal transplantation community.

A short-term site visit and training course in a European center will

take place at the TTS meeting in Berlin. The Research Institute of

Nephrology at Nanjing University School of Medicine will head the

training program - a world-class institute that received the Robert

Schrier Award last year. Moreover, the program will focus on organ

donation in 2012 where it will support the WKD theme and promote

organ donation after cardiac death.

China has the largest population of patients with end stage renal

failure. However, only very few of them can get a donor. Every

year, many patients die from complications relating to dialysis. On

the other hand, many more suffer accidental deaths in the country

annually. The concept of brain death is not widely accepted in China -

promoting organ donation after cardiac death is the best way

to bridge this gap.

For more information about the YNC, visit: www.theisn.org ●

We want to hear

from you on Facebook

Let us know how you are involved in YNC activities by posting regular

updates on ISN’s Young Nephrologist Facebook page.

ISN News 40 | February 2012

Qiquan Sun meets program candidates.

Haitao Zhang, co-Chair

of YNC at the Chinese

Society of Nephrology

(CSN) (left), CSN

President-Elect

Zhi-Hong Liu (middle)

and ISN young nephrologist

Qiquan Sun (far right).

YNC and Chinese Society of Nephrology to promote better transplantation for tomorrow

13

Sessions will focus on

Co-Chairs

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Advancing Nephrology around the World

ISN FOREFRONTSSYMPOSIUM2012SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND THE KIDNEYJune 7-10, 2012Ann Arbor Michigan

For more information

www.isnforefronts.org/2012/annarbor

Past events

Upcoming events

ISN Events

Round up of the ISN Forefronts 2011 in Denmark

Last September saw ISN organize the Forefronts symposium

in Aarhus, Denmark. This time around discussions focused on

proteinuria from glomerular fi ltration to tubular handling. Every year,

these symposia highlight emerging and groundbreaking research

and gather nephrologists and active investigators from surrounding

medical areas to explore new scientifi c domains and review the latest

developments in kidney disease.

Using an interactive format, they allow nephrologists to develop a

collegial relationship with leading researchers from other disciplines.

“There was a great feeling of camaraderie, and I think all delegates

recognized the importance of this topic and the need for continuing

research to answer the many unanswered questions. Dr. Christensen,

his colleagues, and the ISN did a great job in organizing the meeting,”

says ISN President John Feehally.

For the full list of ISN events

visitwww.theisn.org

June 7-10, 2012, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

ISN Forefronts Symposium Systems Biology and the Kidney

October 4-7, 2012, Melbourne, Australia

ISN Forefronts Symposium Tubulointerstitial Disease in Diabetic Nephropathy

May 31-June 4, 2013, Hong Kong, China

ISN World Congress of Nephrology 2013

September 20-23, 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark

Nexus Symposium 2012 Bone and the Kidney

WORLD CONGRESS

OF NEPHROLOGY

HONG KONG ,MAY 31 - JUNE 4, 2013

ISN News 40 | February 2012

2013

15

GET INVOLVED!For more information and ideas for action, please visit

www.worldkidneyday.org

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