50 Years of funding research to save lives
This year we celebrate our 50th anniversary
Since 1961 we have grown to become the leading charity dedicated to funding research specifically into the causes, prevention and treatment of kidney disease.
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As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary we can reflect on the fact that, thanks to advances in kidney research over half a century 47,000 people in the UK are alive today who would otherwise have died from renal failure, and worldwide, millions can be treated for this ‘silent disease’.
As the charity has grown, so has our commitment to research. In more recent times, from 1985, we have invested £44 million in vital research projects. Our main impact has grown to the extent that we now work in over 30 centres of excellence and have supported over 650 research grants, studentships and fellowships.
A message from our Patron, Angela Rippon
Kidney Research UK has come a very long way in the last 50 years in their battle to fight kidney disease. The Charity’s 50th anniversary is an important milestone and I’d like to congratulate everyone involved with the charity for their hard work in their mission to improve the quality of life of all those with kidney disorders.
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Currently, Kidney Research UK can only fund 1 in 5 of the research projects presented to them. This is seriously frustrating and a real issue because one of those unfunded studies could hold the key to finding a cure to this silent and sneaky disease.
Within the UK population kidney disease is increasing at a rate of over 5% each year. We must not let that continue. At present, the only treatment is dialysis or a transplant, and the acute shortage of transplant organs means that only a very lucky few can ever look forward to that lifeline. Clearly, a cure is the only long term answer.
I would like more people to sit up and take notice of this unappreciated organ and help the Charity ‘shout out’ about kidney disease. I urge those who may be thinking of donating to a Charity, or thinking about taking part in a fundraising event, to consider supporting Kidney Research UK. It will help to create a brighter future not only for those already diagnosed kidney patients but also the 3 million people who are unknowingly at risk from kidney disease in the UK.
Angela Rippon OBE, Patron
