Celebrating ISN Collective-Member Societies: The Philippine Society of Nephrology
The ISN’s series on Collective-Member Societies continues its focus on the ISN Oceania and South East Asia region, spotlighting the Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN), currently celebrating its 50th year.
We spoke to PSN President Noel M. Castillo about ongoing local initiatives to raise kidney health awareness in the region, including World Kidney Day (WKD) activities.
Every June, designated national ‘Kidney Month’ in the Philippines, the PSN organizes an extended awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with the Government Department of Health. Alongside the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, kidney health care and kidney disease prevention are highlighted in a press conference and promoted through national press outlets and public forums and activities.
During this month of special activities, the ISN-TTS STC partnership between the South Philippine Medical Center (SPMSC) in the Philippines, the University of Barcelona (UB), and the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (HCB) in Spain held the first two in a series of webinars addressing nephrology issues during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The PSN held a press conference in partnership with the PCP to mark World Kidney Day, presenting the 2021 theme of living well with kidney diseases. On WKD itself, March 11, 2021, CKD patients took part in online activities to inspire participants to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Members of the public were encouraged to share their WKD event photos on social media platforms and take part in a renal vlog contest.
The PSN recently developed a series of webinars on ethics and professionalism. The most recent edition, introduced by ISN President Agnes Fogo, focused on the challenge of organ trafficking within kidney transplantation.
As part of the PSN’s 50th-anniversary celebrations, monthly scientific meetings have been held throughout the year and will culminate in a grand ceremony during the PSN annual meeting in April 2022.
The PSN joined the ISN as a Collective-Member Society in 2016.
