World Kidney Day: SIUT emphasises early detection

KARACHI: The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) celebrated the World Kidney Day, complete with daylong activities like screening of people against kidney diseases, checking their blood sugar levels and blood pressure, on Thursday. A public awareness seminar, addressed by SIUT director Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi, Dr Sajid Bhatti, Dr Munnawar Khaliq, Dr Seema Hashmi, Dr Imran and other professionals also took place. Prof Rizvi said that 15,000 people are suffering from kidney failure in the country. He said that seminars like these provide an opportunity for nephrologists to emphasise on preventive measures and timely medical interventions of conditions that, if left untreated, may lead to renal failure. Dr Sajid Bhatti, who is an assistant professor of nephrology, pointed to a steady increase in the number of people suffering from renal failure in the world, and attributed the trend to a rise in the incidence of diabetes and hypertension. Dr Imran said that 366 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide, and predicted that Pakistan will have the world 10th largest number of diabetics by 2030.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2012.