Our "World Kidney Day" event titled 'Me, My Kidney, My Family and Bezmialem Are Happy' took place online. Our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu, who carried out the opening speech, stated, “Last year, the event we held face to face was the World Kidney Day event. Then, unfortunately, we distanced away from each other due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, our relationship with our patients with Chronic Renal Failure and those receiving kidney replacement therapies still continues due to the fact that they have to come and go to the dialysis center. We did not distance from them. We had to follow up our other patients remotely from time to time.
Stating that we have been celebrating the World Kidney Day for 15 years, our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu continued, “Kidney Day is trying to draw attention to kidney diseases through various activities all over the world. Why are we doing this? Because kidney disease is a disease that can go unnoticed. In our country, we revealed that 1 out of 7 people have kidney disease, with research conducted about 10 years ago. We know that 1 in 10 people throughout the world have kidney disease. It is now possible to treat kidney disease and extend this period with non-dialysis treatments. We strive to make these treatments available anywhere in the world. Having kidney disease should not cause you to lose your connection with life. It is possible to learn to live with this disease, to continue life with the right treatments, to continue your work, school and social life. That is why our theme this year is to live well with kidney disease everywhere".
Our University's Head of Nephrology Department Prof. Dr. Meltem Gürsu, began her speech as follows:
“When we diagnose our patients with kidney disease or chronic kidney failure in our outpatient clinics, we see fear and sadness both at the same time on our patients faces. While some of these are due to lack of information, some of them are caused by general misinformation obtained from the media or other sources. A kidney patient may continue his / her life with this disease or recover with treatment, but patients should also be aware of the possibility of living a life close to normal. The process of accepting the disease forms the basis of the treatment process. After overcoming this process, the patient can adapt much more easily to treatment and medication compliance. Our success increases with the positive progress of these processes." One of the speakers, Dr. Şafak Mirioğlu, carried out a presentation on the topic “The Role of the Patient and Family in Renal Replacement Therapies". Dr. Şafak Mirioğlu discussed the complaints of patients and the vital effects of these complaints. In the rest of his speech, he also discussed topics such as the role of the patient and their family, and treatment methods.
Canan Sayan, one of the speakers, started her speech by telling her professional story. Stating that she has been working as a dialysis nurse for 23 years, Canan Sayan carried out a presentation on “Nursing Approach in Renal Replacement Therapies".
One of our other speakers, Serap Büber, a polycystic kidney patient, carried out a presentation titled “Life Style Changes in Renal Replacement Therapies." In her speech, Serap Büber, who is a patient of peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis and transplant, explained all these treatment processes and the changes in her life during this period.
One of our speakers, Ismet Yavuz, who discovered that he had kidney disease in 2006, gave a speech about “The Role of the Patient in Renal Replacement Therapies in Self-Treatment". Ismet Yavuz especially emphasized the compliance with diet and drug use.
Gülseren Vural explained the process about her husband, who has been on dialysis for 4 years, in the section titled "The Role of Family Members in Renal Replacement Therapies in Patient Care" in her following speech:
“My wife's treatment began with peritoneal dialysis. However, heart surgery had to be performed in the following period and peritoneal dialysis was insufficient. Therefore, we started to continue the treatment with hemodialysis. Since my mother was bedridden, we started Home Hemodialysis with the recommendation of the Bezmialem Nephrology team. We have been receiving home hemodialysis training for the last 3 months. In this process, I help my wife both psychologically and during treatment practices. "
Speaking about her 75-year-old mother-in-law, who has been on dialysis for 22 years, Hicran Keklik stated that with the consciousness of the patient and her relatives, her vital adaptation also increased. Talking about the changing living conditions before and after dialysis, Hicran Keklik stated that the most important thing is "acceptance".
At the closing of the event, our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu stated, “I would like to thank everyone, the whole team and my patients who have contributed. I would like to thank the team that carried out our organization in the background. Once again, we came together, albeit from a distance, for the World Kidney Day.
