Today is World Kidney Day

The world commemorates World Kidney Day on March 9 to raise awareness about the various kidney diseases that exist and how they can affect one’s life. The human body requires a kidney to function properly and without a healthy one, even the simplest of tasks become a dire task. 

As a result, hundreds of events are held around the world on this day to raise awareness about kidney health. This includes things like public screenings, seminars, and marathons, among other things. The goal is to raise awareness about kidney health and how people can live a long and disease-free life.

Civilizations were aware of the existence of kidneys in the human body even before science had reached the status it has today. This is why kidneys are mentioned in the bible more than 30 times. According to Professor Garabed Eknoyan, the organ represents emotions, desire, and wisdom. The Egyptian Ebers Papyrus contains an ancient description of the kidneys. Georg Ebers, a German Egypiantologist, discovered this dating back to 1550 B.C. This account is significant because it includes observations made by ancient physicians. Surprisingly, it also includes images of human mummies with conditions like renal cysts and stones.

The discovery of kidneys at such an early point in time is understandable, given how important the organ is in the healthy functioning of a human



body.

World Kidney Day was established in 2006 to raise awareness about the importance of kidneys. The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) collaborated to create the day, which serves as a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of kidney health. 

The day also highlights the prevalence of kidney diseases and the importance of maintaining optimal kidney health. Other goals of the day include emphasizing the importance of diabetes and high blood pressure as risk factors for Chronic Kidney Disease (C.K.D.), as well as encouraging systematic C.K.D. screening of all diabetic and hypertensive patients.

On World Kidney Day, all governments are encouraged to take action and invest in additional kidney screening, lab values, and hospitalizations rates with reimbursements being affected positively or negatively if targets are not met. Protocol developments by insurers and hospital systems and guidelines have reinforced the emphasis on data. 

This year’s theme reframes kidney disease care as improving outcomes so that patients can continue to participate in their lives. The theme also emphasizes that meeting laboratory goals and adhering to protocols does not imply that the patient is being properly cared for.