News

The ISN Continuing Medical Education (CME) Program supported Narayan Prasad (India), Dibya Singh Shah (Nepal) and Udana Ratnapala (Sri Lanka)* to travel to the 19th Annual Convention and Scientific Seminar of Kidney Foundation Hospital and Research Institute held from Sep 30-Oct 1, 2023.

Faculty at the 19th Annual Convention and Scientific Seminar of the Kidney Foundation

Highlighting CKD prevention strategies

The event addressed “The Global Burden of CKD and Its Prevention,” focusing on preventing chronic kidney disease (CKD) through screening programs. Five hundred and thirty participants attended, mainly from within Bangladesh. Faculty from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Korea and the UK attended.

Younger participants could submit abstracts free of charge, and awards were presented for best oral presentation and poster. Tasnuva Sarah Kashem, one of the meeting organizers, commented: “The outstanding level of abstract submissions from across the nation reflects that this meeting was held in high regard.”

 Udana Ratnapala

The CME Program supports ongoing SRC objectives

This event was linked to fulfilling the objectives of the ISN Sister Renal Centers (SRC) Program partnership between the Kidney Foundation Hospital (KFH) in Bangladesh and the Royal London Hospital (RLH) in the UK. A team under Magdi Yaqoob and Stanley Fan at the RLH has supported the kidney center through the SRC Program since 2017.

The Kidney Foundation Hospital will graduate from the SRC Program this year and qualify to become an ISN Regional Training Center to help support local kidney care.

Dibya Singh Shah

Fostering discussions to advance kidney care in the region

According to Dr. Kashem, the meeting included many interactive elements, allowing participants to brainstorm topics with faculty. As a result, several new collaborative ideas were generated between the centers across South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh) and the RLH. In addition, these discussions gave rise to new ideas for research projects on kidney transplantation.

The importance of addressing gender disparity in kidney care was also discussed by faculty, encouraging female nephrologists to engage proactively in leadership roles. Dr. Kashem noted, “Coincidentally, the winners of the poster and oral presentations were female, illustrating that both genders can advance at the same pace when provided with equal opportunities.”

Narayan Prasad

Joint strategies for regional advancement

The KFH’s healthcare model was developed by ISN South Asia Regional Board member and past ISN Pioneer Award recipient Harun Ur Rashid. The KFH will share this model with other regional health centers and collaborate to help kidney patients in low-resource settings.

Other projects include collaborating with Dr. Prasad on an AKI study and establishing a donor pool for kidney transplants in Bangladesh. Additionally, plans for a training exchange were discussed where KFH staff would receive transplantation training in the UK, and RLH staff would learn to adapt to resource-limited settings in South Asia.

*Narayan Prasad is the ISN South Asia Regional Board chair and SRC Committee member; Dibya Singh Shah is the immediate past South Asia Regional Board chair and Fellowship Committee member; Udana Ratnapala is a past ISN Fellow.