Stanley Medical College and Hospital organises kidney day awareness programme

CHENNAI: Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital organized an awareness programme to educate people with knowledge about the key risk factors of kidney disease like Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity etc.

On account of World kidney day (March 14) on Thursday, the programme discussed the importance of reducing the frequency of kidney diseases and its impact and associated health problems. Department of Nephrology at the hospital has performed 949 renal transplantations till date, including 794 live transplants and 155 deceased transplants.

"The most effective way to prevent kidney disease is to optimally control blood sugar, and blood pressure since Diabetes and Hypertension can pose risk for kidney health. He also recommended to avoid unnecessary intake of medicines obtained from the pharmacy without proper prescription for preventing damage to the organs, besides maintaining a healthy lifestyle, " said Dr P Balaji, dean of the hospital.

Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy, Member of Parliament and Dr Muthu Jayaram, Founder and former head of department of Nephrology at the hospital also felicitated the renal transplant recipients who are leading a healthy life for more than 15 years post transplant. The hospital is conducting various health programmes aimed at screening the public for risk factors of renal failure and to initiate treatment at the earliest are provided by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The hospital is also organising World Glaucoma Awareness week to spread awareness about the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma as the worldwide prevalence rate stands at 1 percent.

Several such cases remain undiagnosed and present to hospital at a later stage when blindness becomes inevitable. Doctors emphasize the importance of regular eye checkups to prevent blindness due to glaucoma.