News

The ISN was pleased to participate in the hybrid roundtable, ‘Quality of Life in Dialysis Care,’ hosted in Madrid by our partner, the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA), on , 2022.

The event was organized as a follow-up to the European Kidney Patients’ Federation’s White Paper on Living Better with CKD (2021) to discuss and identify ways to improve the quality of life for patients on dialysis. High-level stakeholders came together to discuss concrete policies to benefit kidney patients throughout Europe, allowing ISN members to express their views and concerns on the topic.

As noted by nephrologist and member of the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association, Dr. Philippe Chauveau, “dialysis is a successful treatment, but it is not a cure. It offers the possibility that one’s health condition will not worsen in the coming years.”

Dialysis is very time-consuming for patients, who face multiple burdens and often give up on some parts of their lives, including work. One aspect addressed at the meeting was the need to identify the optimal length of time and frequency of hemodialysis for individual patients to reduce itching, fatigue, and restless legs.

With momentum building at the EU level, the ISN is committed to working alongside the EKHA to help develop forward-looking policy solutions to improve the lives of people suffering from kidney disease and include patient voices in the design and implementation of health policies worldwide.