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A Christmas love story
Finding out you need to start dialysis for a kidney problem at a young age can be devastating. Pauline Baird, 55, was just 23 years old when she discovered her kidneys were starting to fail and she needed treatment. For three years, she determinedly pursued a tiring but fulfilling career as a nurse while simultaneously having dialysis.…
Why I’m supporting the Melody study into Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness
Jim Hayton lost his sister Elaine to Covid-19 in August this year. Like Jim, Elaine was living with a long-term kidney transplant; like Jim, Elaine had promptly taken up her first two vaccinations. Elaine was 57 and lived a full and active life as a supportive mum, a loving sister and partner, a wonderful colleague and determined fundraiser. “Elaine was the…
New study to investigate how third doses of Covid-19 vaccine protect immunocompromised patients
We are pleased to support researchers at London’s Imperial College in a study to understand how well third doses of vaccine protect immunocompromised patients against Covid-19. The study, known as ‘MELODY’, will involve 36,000 immunocompromised patients across the UK, starting with those with kidney and other organ transplants, and then later including patients with cancer…
Sad memories this Christmas
Christmas will never be the same for one family, who lost their father aged just 47 to complications caused by renal failure on Boxing Day last year. Now, they are campaigning for improved dialysis treatment and better understanding of patients with kidney failure. Samantha Sharp’s late father John was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at…
Kidney failure at Christmas leads to a whirlwind year
When Hannah Davison started feeling ill during her first term at university, she put it down to her new student life. Like a typical Fresher, she was burning the candle at both ends, studying hard for her psychology degree at the University of Dundee and going to bed late. Hannah Davison At just 18 years…
Toddler Joseph faces a difficult Christmas
Last year, the Turkentines enjoyed a normal, happy family Christmas, celebrating the wonder of the festive season with their son Joseph, then aged two. Fast forward a year, and everything looks very different. Joseph Turkentine at Christmas Mum Sara, 34, who works in HR, explains, “Joseph had always been small for his age, then we noticed he…
The BioIndustry Association and Kidney Research UK announce new Charity of the Year partnership
Kidney Research UK has been chosen to be the BioIndustry Association‘s charity partner for 2022. The partnership aims to raise funds, increase awareness of kidney health, and promote kidney research to the life sciences ecosystem. The BIA, the UK’s trade association for innovative life sciences, will support Kidney Research UK both through employee fundraising activities and strategic opportunities across the next 12 months. The partnership…
Local showbiz family on a mission to create a film about organ donation
Andrew Smith, Chipping Norton resident and a former director and producer for the BBC, is creating a thought-provoking film about kidney donation, appropriately titled Donate. Andrew who was the recipient of a life-saving transplant in 2017, is looking to combine humour and serious issues to bring the reality of transplantation to life. Andrew and his wife, Sue Tanner who between them have worked across classic programmes including, Only Fools and Horses,…
Our new MedTech Competition to fund new academic research
We are excited to have launched our brand new Kidney MedTech Competition to accelerate the development and availability of new technologies to make research count for patients sooner. We are now accepting research submissions from academic researchers based in the UK. Each prize will consist of £25,000 funding and attendance for two representatives, per project, as part of our bespoke…
Researchers zoom into individual kidney filters in whole human kidneys using brightest ever X-ray
Blog by Dr David Long and Daniyal Jafree, University College London Each kidney contains around one million tiny filters called glomeruli. Working together, glomeruli remove harmful waste from the blood. Injury to glomeruli is a common feature of kidney diseases, and reduces the kidney’s ability to function, eventually requiring dialysis or transplantation. Hospital scans such as ultrasound or CT, are performed to assess the…