Sister centers in India and USA unite over pediatric nephrology care
Six years of partnership have now led to the Christian Medical College in Vellore (India) becoming a center of excellence in kidney care. Partnering with University of California, Los Angeles (USA), doctors at the center in India are training staff in pediatric nephrology, improving dialysis and transplant treatment for a younger group of patients.
Thanks to the growth of the pediatric nephrology unit into a center of excellence, they are now providing holistic care to children with kidney disease, imparting quality education and performing relevant research.
Speaking at the Voices from Sister Centers session at the World Congress of Nephrology 2019, ISN Fellow and Continuing Medical Education Program speaker Dr. Indira Agarwal revealed the great achievements of the partnership between the Christian Medical College, in Vellore (India) and the University of California, Los Angeles (USA).
She said that after several years of hard work they were ready to carry out the first kidney transplant on a pediatric patient on November 15, 2017. They are now set to reach out to a hospital in Mozambique to support local educational training.
In addition to this major achievement, she talked of the need to raise awareness of the importance of pediatric nephrology: ‘Picking up the signs of kidney disease in children is especially challenging. Many children arrive at the hospital at an advanced stage.’
With the ISN Sister Renal Centers Program, they were able to establish training that was relevant to local needs and build a center of excellence in the region. Dialysis technicians, nurses and renal fellows visited UCLA to improve their skills and, upon their return, they extended pediatric nephrology services to the department.
Thanks to this partnership and the exchanges between the sister centers, the Christian Medical College is more visible as a center, welcoming two fellows per year. Overall, ten fellows have graduated and are now practicing across the country.
Local doctors have also got more engaged in prevention activities. Traveling to schools in rural areas to screen children for signs of kidney disease has helped to increase awareness. The success of this program renewed their enthusiasm and commitment to improving the outcome of children with kidney disease.
Read more about the ISN Programs. Want to apply for the ISN Sister Renal Centers (SRC) Program? Join the ISN SRC webinar on June 24, 2019 to pick up some tips on applying for this ISN Program.
