The event, a hybrid programme with live streaming, was held Monday, January 25, 2021, at 5.45 pm at Hotel Savera, R.K. Salai, Chennai.

The Mr. Venkatesan & Mrs. Malathi Venkatesan TANKER Foundation Memorial Lecture was delivered by Prof. Nithya S. Krishnan, Consultant Transplant Nephrologist, NHS Trust, UK.

She spoke on ‘My Journey in Nephrology from Chennai to London’. The various challenges she faced included gender and racial bias. It was her grit and determination that helped her reach where she is today as Professor and Head of Transplantation in the NHS Trust in the UK. She emphasised that there is no substitute for hard work. Constant perseverance and endurance, keeping in mind the cause of helping people, is what keeps her going, she said.

Chief Guest, Mr. K. Pandiarajan, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture and Archaeology, said he admired and appreciated the dedicated work TANKER does and observed that everyone involved took ownership of TANKER. He also explained the various government medical schemes available for the benefit of the needy.

He presented the following awards to the winners:

The K. V. George Kottukulam Memorial TANKER & Kerala Kidney Research Foundation Young Investigator Award for outstanding research in the field of Nephrology in India was awarded to Dr. Nanditha Arun of Mohan Diabetes Research Foundation, Director and Consultant Diabetologist of Dr. A. Ramachandran’s Diabetes Hospital, for her research into ‘Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 Inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes – A longitudinal observational study’. The award carries a prize of Rs. 2,00,000, a citation and a gold medallion.

The Renny Abraham TANKER Foundation Love for Service Award for a medical doctor who has gone beyond the call of duty in serving the underprivileged was awarded to Dr. Mishra Vineet Vashistha, Director, Smt. G.R. Doshi & Smt. K.M. Mehta Institute of Kidney Diseases & Research Centre – Dr. H.L. Trivedi Institute of Transplantation Sciences, Gujarat. The award carries a prize of Rs. 1,00,000, a citation and a gold medallion.

The La Renon TANKER Foundation For the Sake of Honour Award, given to an individual who has done exemplary work in his or her field, was presented to Prof Nithya S Krishnan, Consultant Transplant Nephrologist, NHS Trust, UK. The award carries a prize of Rs. 1,00,000, a citation and a gold medallion.

The La Renon TANKER Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards, given to two individuals who have done exemplary work in the field of Nephrology, were presented to Dr. S C Dash (Bhubaneswar) and Dr. Nammalwar (Chennai). The awards carry a  prize of Rs. 1,00,000, a citation and a gold medallion each.

The K. Venkatanarayana TANKER Foundation Awareness Award, given to an individual for creating awareness of any disease, mental, physical and social, was presented to SCARF Youth Mental Health Program, headed by Dr. Shiva Prakash Srinivasan. The award carries a prize of Rs. 1,00,000, a citation and a gold medallion.

Mr. Shankar Iyer TANKER Foundation Innovator Award was presented to Dr. Lloyd Vincent, Bengaluru, for his innovation of an Indian-made Haemodialysis Machine which will be available in May 2021. The award carries a prize of Rs. 1,00,000, a citation and a gold medallion.

 The Ashok Sankaralingam TANKER Foundation Patient Endowment – One-year dialysis support, will be given for 4 underprivileged patients with kidney failure, totalling Rs. 1,00,000.

The Dean of Madras Medical College, Dr. E. Theranirajan, and staff of Heamodialysis Unit at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital were honoured for their selfless service during the pandemic.

The new revamped TANKER website was officially launched.

 This was followed by TANKER Staff Service award, ‘Angels on Earth’ and ‘Angels with Wings’ recognition awards, prizes and dinner.

Grateful thanks was conveyed TANKER’s well-wishers, sponsors, the staff and management of Savera, the media and donors and especially Mrs. Nina Reddy for sponsoring the dinner at Savera Hotel.

REN 2021 Event YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/YC2s-6BuOr4