World Kidney Day!

World Kidney Day (WKD) is an annual global awareness and education event, held on 13th March every year. The event provides the perfect opportunity to get out in the community and share the WKD message with friends, family and people you meet. It is also a chance to raise awareness of the importance to life of your kidneys, how you can look after yourself and the risk factors for kidney disease - you might just save a life!

Considering I am going through Chronic Kidney Disease myself, I feel quite strongly about this. I've had kidney problems since birth, therefore I have been introduced to the world of kidneys since a very young age. However, some people I know have absolutely no idea what the kidneys even do or how important they are. I don't blame them of course, why would they? However I definitely think more awareness must be made regarding kidneys.

There is a lot of spotlight held on certain illnesses within the UK, but everyone seems to forget about the not so common illnesses out there. Don't get me wrong there is a lot I need to learn and be educated on when it comes to different illnesses and conditions out there, however this is one that is very close to home for me.


There are currently 5,680 people in the UK waiting for a kidney transplant. I am one of those statistics. Last year, 335 people in the UK died whilst waiting for a kidney transplant. That's nearly one person every day. I do not want to be one of those statistics.

There are at least 1 million people within the UK with moderate to severe kidney disease that have not yet been identified. 20% of people with kidney failure are only referred to a kidney specialist when their kidneys have already completely failed and their outcome is poor.

There are roughly 26,000 people in the UK receiving dialysis treatment for kidney failure and that number is rising every year.

I think these facts suck and they need to change. Whilst technology is constantly moving forward, those affected by kidney failure are generally having a very shit time. I don't wish kidney failure on my worse enemy.



What can you do to help yourself and your kidneys?

· Keep the Pressure Down – High blood pressure accelerates kidney damage. To protect yourself from kidney disease you should monitor your blood pressure regularly and maintain a diet low in salt and saturated fats.

· Keep fit and active - This helps reduce your blood pressure and therefore reduces the risk of kidney disease.

· Don’t smoke - Cigarette smoking slows blood flow to the kidneys, decreasing their ability to function properly. Quit smoking to slow the progression of kidney disease.

· Eat healthily and keep your weight in check - This can help prevent diabetes, heart disease and other conditions associated with kidney disease.

· Know your kidney function - If anyone in your family has suffered from kidney disease, if you are diabetic or if you are of Asian or African ancestry, it is particularly important to get your kidney function checked by your GP. In the western world, 30-40% of patients with kidney failure have Type 2 diabetes.

Kidney failure and kidney disease does not always show symptoms, therefore it's up to you to get them checked and keep them healthy.



What can I do to help?

Have you ever considered joining the organ donor register? I know loads of people who would do it, but lead such busy lives that they have just not got round to doing it yet. It takes 2 minutes to join and you can do so here!

Obviously we all know that signing the organ donor register means you give permission to donate your organs when you die, however in this day and age; technology and doctors have become so advanced that people are living longer and doctors are able to revive more and more patients throughout the UK. Whilst I don't wish anyone to die of course, it does mean that the number of organ donors is decreasing. The waiting list at the moment for a kidney donor is 3 - 4 years on average.

However what a lot of people don't realise is that you can now donate a kidney whilst still alive and go on to live a happy, long, healthy life afterwards. This is called Living Kidney Donor. You can do this for a friend or family member or you can even choose to donate your kidney to a complete stranger. This is called an Altruistic Kidney Donor. There is more information on the Organ Donor website.



I hope this post helps raise awareness, answer some questions for you and maybe even inspire you to do something amazing!