World Kidney Day is a global awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of our kidneys.
Mar. 14 newsletter: It's World Kidney Day! Access BC & international resources & news supporting this global awareness day!
World Kidney Day 2024 Campaign
This year’s theme is Kidney Health for All - Advancing equitable access to care and optimal medication practice.
From WorldKidneyDay.org:
“Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is estimated to affect more than 850 million people worldwide and resulted in over 3.1 million deaths in 2019. Presently, kidney disease ranks as the 8th leading cause of death, and if left unaddressed, it is projected to be the 5th leading cause of years of life lost by 2040.
Over the last three decades, CKD treatment efforts have centered on preparing for and delivering kidney replacement therapies. However, recent therapeutic breakthroughs offer unprecedented opportunities to prevent or delay disease and mitigate complications such as cardiovascular disease and kidney failure, ultimately prolonging the quality and quantity of life for people living with CKD.” Read more
Visit WorldKidneyDay.org to learn more about the global campaign.
BC Renal medication approach and resources
The BC Renal provincial Pharmacy Services Committee manages four formularies of medications essential in the care and treatment of people with kidney disease. The committee also oversees BC Renal’s partnerships with 30+ community pharmacies across the province and facilitates medication best practices.
Through the pharmacy formularies – one for patients receiving dialysis treatment, two for non-dialysis patients, and one for patients with glomerulonephritis – BC leads the country in renal medication and nutritional supplement coverage.
“We encompass the whole concept of medication use management – resulting in up-to-date, evidence-based formularies that also encourage, through policy and guidelines, optimal use of the medications funded by BC Renal,” says Dan Martinusen, Chair, BC Renal Pharmacy Services Committee.
More information:
International 2024 clinical practice guideline announced
KDIGO is a global organization developing and implementing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in kidney disease. For World Kidney day, KDIGO is releasing the 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). This global guideline addresses key issues and topics related to kidney care and provides practical recommendations for clinicians and patients, to improve kidney health for people around the world.
BC Renal executive director Dr. Adeera Levin has co-chaired the development of the 2024 guideline, which contains multiple recommendations for different aspects of kidney care, and says, “We have updated important guidelines heralding a new era in kidney care, with many therapeutic options.”
A few highlights include:
- Recommending that screening and treatment programs for CKD are implemented based on risk stratification to prioritize people, especially in settings with limited economic resources.
- Emphasizing the need for a personalized approach to care, regardless of sex, gender, or age.
- Sharing that patient advocates with CKD strongly argue for earlier CKD screening and diagnosis. They also advocate for CKD detection to be integrated with patient and family education to improve accessing appropriate health care and knowledge and adherence to recommended lifestyle modifications and medications.
Kidney Health Month
Also, see our Kidney Health Month page to learn about BC Renal campaigns for kidney health and early diagnosis of kidney disease. Access easy-to-use tools, resources and more.
