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Emerging Institution: Susana López de Valencia, Colombia;
Supporting Institution: Fundación Valle del Lili (FVL), Colombia
Mentoring Institution: Boston Children’s Hospital.

The Sister Renal Centers Trio collaboration aimed to improve pediatric nephrology in the Southwest region of Colombia through training and initiatives.

Through the program, staff from SLV visited Boston Children’s Hospital to receive training. The emerging center benefitted from additional ISN programs, including fifteen Continuing Medical Education (CME) meetings hosting international speakers, and an Educational Ambassador (EA) Program visit from Dr. Guido Filler, from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Canada.

Support from the urology and nephrology teams at Boston Children’s Hospital helped develop a myelodysplasia clinic as well as a pediatric nephrology unit in Popoyàn for the assistance and follow-up of pediatric patients with renal pathology. An approved AKI network was established in Cali and Popayàn Intensive Care Units.

Both the supporting and mentoring institutions provided training to two transplant surgeons, one adult nephrologist, one pediatric nephrologist, and one pediatric intensivist as well as three nurses enabling the development of a pediatric renal transplant service at Hospital San Jose-Popayàn including a transition program for adolescents with kidney transplants.

Several research studies were carried out and a research group on kidney diseases in the indigenous population was initiated as part of an effort to increase awareness on the associated risks of renal diseases in children in the TOTORO aboriginal community.

In a final report on the impact of the program, the emerging center stated: “We have always received permanent and timely support for everything requested from the ISN…we believe that ISN is an example of excellent support for the entire nephrology community that encourages people to work in an organized way, impacting the prevention of kidney disease in the world.”