More than 500 million persons worldwide – or about one adult in ten –have some form of kidney damage, and every year millions die prematurely of heart attacks and strokes linked to chronic kidney disease.

To call attention to the crucial role of the kidneys and the pressing, global need for the early detection and prevention of kidney disease, hundreds of thousands of health care professionals, kidney patients and their families and friends in more than 40 countries are participating in World Kidney Day this 8 March 2007.

Free kidney screenings and medical advice will be offered to the general public in hospitals, community centers, mobile clinics and outdoors in 50 cities in China, more than 20 cities in the United States and 58 cities in Italy. Other awareness-raising activities will include seminars, public lectures, walkathons and press conferences

“The purpose of World Kidney Day is to reduce the incidence and impact of chronic kidney disease, which is a ‘silent’ disease that often goes undiagnosed,” says Dr. William Couser, President of the International Society of Nephrology. “We have to spread the message that chronic kidney disease is common and harmful but treatable – especially if detected early. We have proved that prevention measures work – now we need to convince health policy makers to push the ‘action’ button”.

“An impressive number of medical and patient groups have mobilized to advocate for prevention on World Kidney Day,” says Dr. Sudhir Shah, President of the International Federation of Kidney Foundations. “They are driven by the knowledge that if we do not act now, the number of human lives we lose to kidney-related diseases will continue to rise. But with simple, inexpensive tests, we can detect kidney problems at an early stage, and we can then slow down or even halt the progression to kidney failure and cardiovascular diseases”.

In developed countries, the number of people who will need dialysis or a transplant to survive is forecasted to double within the next decade – largely due to the steep increase in diabetes and high blood pressure, which are the major causes of chronic kidney disease.

Meanwhile, for the vast majority of people who live in developing countries, dialysis and transplantation are unaffordable. “In India, only 10% of the patients who need renal replacement therapy receive it,” says Dr. Karunan Kannampoyilil, Director of the Institute of Nova Kidney Foundation based in Kerala, South India. “Early detection and prevention are the only real options”.

Sports and entertainment celebrities in various countries are joining the cause. Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., who has fully recovered from kidney surgery performed a year ago, says: “Every day our kidneys do an amazing job of filtering and cleaning our blood, but most of us don’t even know we have two kidneys, or where they are located in our body. We have to overcome this ignorance and to stimulate the curiosity of the general public by asking the simple question: “Are your kidneys OK?”