The key takeaways for people at the CME programme held Sunday November 26, 2023, with the theme ‘Kidney Health for All’ were exercise and diet, awareness, screening and timely check-ups to prevent chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Participating as the chief guest, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary, Mr. Gagandeep Singh Bedi, IAS, laid stress on the fact that kidney disease was increasing and there was a need for addressing the issue. He drew attention to the fact that the Tamil Nadu government scheme, ‘Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’, (Taking Healthcare to People), checked 1 crore people for sugar and BP and the number of new cases was alarming. These are the two major reasons for kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension, and so he advised eating the right kind of food, doing regular exercise and creating awareness and screening. He praised the work of Good Samaritans like TANKER Foundation, Kidney Warriors, MOHAN Foundation and NephroPlus who were involved in raising awareness on kidney health.

Guest of Honour, Dr. Vasanth Ravi, now an actor, recalled the advice of Superstar Rajinikanth, who has undergone transplant, to avoid kidney disease. Dr. Vasanth Ravi advised lifestyle modification, keeping off alcohol and smoking and avoiding foods that lead to the condition.

TANKER Foundation Founder-Trustee, Dr Georgi Abraham, talked about the blood test instrument used in Japan that can easily establish kidney disease. As is his passion, he talked animatedly about preventing kidney disease and wanted to make BP test and blood test compulsory from a young age.

The five sessions that followed the inauguration were very informative and were moderated by Nephrologists. Many issues like the disease burden in Tamil Nadu & India, cardiologist’s views, the role of diabetes in kidney disease, ophthalmologists’ concerns, kidney disease during pregnancy and the great role general physicians can play were discussed and highlighted. Patients were also part of the panel and added a whole lot of meaning to the proceedings.

Dr. T. S. Selvavinayagam, Joint Director, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan, Dr. Suresh Sankar, Dr. Sivaraman, Dr. Arvind Canchi and several eminent doctors participated.

The CME was a collaborative effort of TANKER Foundation, MOHAN Foundation, Kidney Warriors Foundation, NephroPlus and Boehringer Ingelheim.