Dubai Health Authority marks World Kidney Day

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) conducted free health screenings today as part of its campaign to mark the 7th World Kidney Day. The campaign is in line with DHA's commitment to create public awareness about kidney disease. Keeping in mind this year's global theme, 'Kidneys for Life promote organ donation and transplantation," DHA hospitals and health centres highlighted the need for relatives to donate kidneys to those suffering from kidney disease as well as advocated the need for early screening of the disease. The DHA organized free screening camps at many of its hospitals and health centres like Dubai Hospital, Rashid Hospital, Nad Al Hammar Centre and Al Twar Centre to raise awareness about the importance of early detection. Tests included blood, urine, blood pressure and weight check-up to help determine whether the patient already has damaged kidneys or is at a risk of developing kidney disease. Dr Mohammed Railey, Consultant Head of the Nephrology Department at Dubai Hospital said, "A major problem we face is that most of our patients visit us when they already have advanced kidney disease. The main reasons for this is lack of awareness and the fact this disease is a silent disease and often goes undetected until it reaches the advanced stages when the patient already has kidney failure and may even need dialysis. Hence, healthcare practitioners advocate the importance of early detection." Dr Railey said added that if the patient's kidney is damaged, proteins are leaked into the urine and can be identified with a simple urine test. He said, "People with diabetes and high blood pressure are at a higher risk of developing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and therefore they must regularly undergo kidney screening tests." He said that the Dubai Hospital Nephrology Department has 210 patients suffering from kidney disease. Of these 180 are on hemodialysis and 30 are on home peritoneal dialysis. "Every year, we see a 10 to 15 per cent rise in the number of patients, which is a global trend, however, the main reason for the high prevalence of kidney disease in this region is the fact that a significant percentage of our population has diabetes. "Nearly 50 per cent of our patients on dialysis are diabetic. Therefore for us, it is imperative to advocate the importance of early screening, especially for diabetics. If detected early, Chronic Kidney Diseases can be treated--thereby reducing other complications of the disease." Dr Railey said that the age group of patients varies from 15 years to 91 years. The hospital also conducted an awareness workshop across four schools in Dubai and reached out to 1000 children, aged 8 to 13 years as part of the awareness campaign. The campaign was organised by the Nephrology Department at Dubai Hospital.