Introduction
Chair: Professor Sunil Bhandari
The UKKA International Committee was formed in 2004, by Meguid El-Nahas et al, with the main goal of encouraging members to contribute to developing kidney services, infrastructure and expertise in medium and low-income countries, through education, training, mentorship and research.
The UKKA continues to work in collaboration with the ISN to enhance its collaborations with the third world to offer its expertise and share knowledge and experience,
- UK Sister Units
- Case study sessions
- Ambassadors
- Medical Trainee Initiative (MTI) scheme
- Research collaborations
- Joint sessions in collaboration at international meetings - UKKW 2024
Case-Based Meetings:
Interactive Zoom calls are held at least 4 times a year usually at 9 am GMT for 1 hour. We are hoping for an ever-increasing number of colleagues, especially trainees globally, to join these calls, giving their opinions, networking and sharing experiences. We now provide certificates for attendees and speakers to add to their portfolios for CPD.
A recent, successful initiative led by the UKKA Specialty Renal Trainees (SpRs) is a half-day educational initiative from a single country involving a high-profile UK speaker.
Our first meeting on Thursday 11th August 2022 was with our Brazil colleagues and was a huge success. It consisted of:
- Moderators: Prof Sunil Bhandari (UK) and Dr Gisele Vajgel (Brazil)
- Tropical diseases and AKI (including snakes bites and venoms) - Prof Emmanuel de Almeida Burdmann, University of São Paulo Medical School.
- Chikungunya and kidney diseases - Prof Denise Costa, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
- Tropical diseases and kidney transplant - Prof. Tainá de Sandes, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
- AKI in malaria: Assessing the burden of disease and identifying ways to improve outcomes - Dr Daniel Cooper, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK
The last half-day meeting with Australia - Nephrology Down Under & Digital Health on the 9th of February 2023 which was moderated by Prof Sunil Bhandari and Dr Sadia Jahan (Australia) was well attended and consisted of:
- Clinical nephrogenetics in Australia - Prof Andrew Mallett (Professor of Medicine, James Cook University, Director of Clinical Research, Townsville University Hospital and THHS, National Director of the KidGen Collaborative and Lead for two Rare Disease Flagships - Australian Genomics Health Alliance)
- Rates and outcomes of kidney failure in Australia - Prof Stephen McDonald (Director of Dialysis at the Central Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service and Executive Officer of the ANZDATA Registry)
- Pregnancy and Kidney disease - insights from Australian data - A/Prof Shilpanjali Jesudason (Nephrologist, Central Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service (CNARTS) Chair, CNARTS Clinical Research Group & Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide)
- Digital Health is coming - are doctors the major barrier? - Dr Nick Sangala (Consultant Nephrologist at the Wessex Kidney Centre in Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK and Co-Founder at MyRenalCare)
We met with our colleagues in South Africa on Tuesday 1st August at 15:00 SA time (14:00 UK time).
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Improving the emergency management of hyperkalaemia: an African perspective - Prof Yazied Clothia (Associate Professor, Division of Nephrology, Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital)
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The spectrum of HIV-related kidney disease in South Africa) – Prof Nicola Wearne (Head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, and Secretary of the South African Nephrology Society)
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Assessing kidney function in African populations) – Dr June Fabian (Director of Clinical Research, Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, and Honorary Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand)
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Genetic susceptibility to kidney disease in people of African ancestry with HIV - Prof Frank Post and Dr Rachel Hung (Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and honorary Professor of HIV Medicine at King’s College London and Clinical Research Fellow, King’s College London)
Specific Aims of the International Committee
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Raise the international profile of UK kidney centres and teams, as teachers, trainers, educators and mentors in developing countries. We already punch well “above our weight,” but can aspire to do even more.
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Attract more overseas trainees to come and train for a period of up to two years in the UK (to provide skills and knowledge to take home) and also give our UK trainees (including established consultants) and allied healthcare workers the opportunities to make valuable contributions by going abroad.
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To “make a real difference” (in both directions) by generating more dynamic and creative links between UK kidney centres and those in developing countries.
ISN Fellowship Program – Advice for Applicants and Hosts in the UK
Indranil Dasgupta and John Feehally have produced a guide to hosting overseas visitors and fellows. We would urge everyone with an interest in fostering overseas links to read this document and use it where needed.
ISN and UK UKKA International Committee initiative
The ISN is now offering free ISN membership to all trainees under the age of 37. This is a generous offer and comes with no strings attached. The ISN is responsible for Kidney International, (so access to the journal will be available through the ISN Membership) as well as discounted registration for future ISN conferences. We urge UK trainees to take this offer up.
Member in Training (FREE): Trainees in nephrology are encouraged to apply for ISN Member in Training. Members receive all member benefits except print copies of Kidney International. All other benefits apply. Eligible individuals must submit an online application. Advisors/Instructors/Professors/Supervisors of trainees in nephrology wishing to apply for In-Training Membership for their trainees can submit their applications using a dedicated application form. If submitting multiple applications, please fill in separate forms for each applicant, click here to download the application form.
Opportunities to get involved
The UKKA International Committee wishes to encourage more UK kidney centres and nephrologists to become involved internationally, through the various ISN programs. Suggestions for wider collaborations between UK units and those in developing countries are welcome. Most members of the UKKA International Committee are experts in understanding the many tricky passages to navigate when getting permission for people from abroad to spend time in the UK being trained. So contacting them directly with queries would be a good way to start.
We are keen to promote observerships in:
- Transplantation
- Dialysis
- Peritoneal Dialysis
- Other areas
Please contact the International Committee if you would be willing to support this.
