The Leicester Kidney Care Appeal brings together doctors, nurses and other staff on the renal unit, renal research scientists, patients and fundraisers.
We work to publicise and raise funds for the vital research into kidney disease, and innovations in patient care, that are being pioneered in the John Walls Renal Unit at Leicester General Hospital.
Kidney disease is an urgent problem
People develop kidney disease for a wide variety of reasons and, in some cases, the disease gets progressively worse until the kidneys no longer function.
When this happens the patients become more and more ill as toxins accumulate in their blood. The patient then needs a kidney transplant or dialysis treatment to keep them alive.
Our kidneys are vital organs which filter and clean our blood and excrete toxins and waste products. Although dialysis treatment does some of the work of the kidneys, people on dialysis have lifestyle restrictions, and are more likely to develop other medical problems such as heart disease.
What we are doing about kidney disease
In the John Walls Renal Unit, we are doing research of three main types:
1. Laboratory research using cultured cells to discover the basic mechanisms involved in kidney disease
2. Clinical research using blood and tissue samples from patients to study the disease processes and their response to treatment
3. Community research aimed at discovering why some members of the community are more prone to kidney disease than others
How you can help
Research is expensive. We need additional funds to help us make the most of the great research opportunities facing us, and to build on our successes.
Some of the funds we raise through the Kidney Care Appeal we use to pay for equipment and resources which give direct benefit to patients now, and which cannot be paid for directly by the NHS.
We use the funds to:
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Equip and run our research laboratories
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Buy and maintain equipment such as exercise bikes for dialysis patients
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Help us employ expert researchers
More information:
To make a donation to support this vital work please click here
Website link:
Find out more about the Kidney Care Appeal - on the University of Leicester website
