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1456 delegates, comprising 989 delegates from the host country Malaysia and 467 participants from other countries attended the Congress. The Congress was endorsed by several international organizations including the Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology (APSN), International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and European Dialysis and Transplant Association (EDTA).

The Congress and Pre-Congress program were designed to benefit all sectors of personnel involved in providing care to hemodialysis patients, from physicians to nurses and other allied health professionals.

There were three pre-congress workshops including one for diagnostic and interventional nephrology (DIN). This was very well attended and included live ultrasound demonstrations focusing on vascular access assessment. Speakers included Dr. Tushar Vachharajani, Dr. Aris Urbanes, Dr. Surendra Shenoy, Dr. Wong Hin Seng, Dr. Rafidah Abdullah, Dr. Bee Boon Chiak and Dr. Ng Eng Khim.

The one-day DIN workshop was entitled “Basics and Essentials of DIN in Hemodialysis” and was attended by over 200 delegates from 24 countries. The morning session consisted of lectures that covered the various aspects of vascular access, including the selection and insertion of cuffed hemodialysis catheters, preoperative vascular access assessment, and the evaluation and management of failing vascular access. Interactive sessions on endovascular approaches in failing vascular accesses and live demonstrations of ultrasonography evaluation of vascular access were held in the afternoon.

Topics in the general session ranged from basic science including dialyzer characteristics and water treatment for dialysis to practical aspects in interventional nephrology, molecular science, socioeconomic issues and latest innovations. A special symposium was also organized on the role of regional renal registries. There were 66 speakers, including 51 international experts and 15 local speakers.