Today is World Kidney Day!
This year, World Kidney Day continues to raise awareness of the increasing burden of kidney diseases worldwide and to strive for kidney health for everyone, everywhere. The 2021 campaign has been declared "Living Well With Kidney Disease" to highlight the importance of effective symptom management, patient empowerment, and the ultimate goal of boosting life enjoyment.
Visit worldkidneyday.org to find out more ways you can raise awareness for World Kidney Day.
The World Kidney Day Steering Committee calls for the inclusion of life participation as a key focus in the care of patients with CKD and as a building block towards delivering the ultimate goal of living well with kidney disease.
Moreover,
- Patients with CKD and their family members or other care-partners should be empowered to achieve the health outcomes and life goals that are meaningful and important to them. This will require patients to understand their role, to have the necessary knowledge to be able to engage with clinicians in shared decision-making, as well as developing the skills and support for effective self-management.
- We further advocate for strengthened partnership with patients in the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions for practice and policy settings, that enable patients to live well. This needs to be supported by consistent, accessible and meaningful communication.
- We also call for greater emphasis on a strengths-based approach which encompasses strategies to support patient resilience, harness social connections, build patient awareness and knowledge, facilitate access to support, and establish confidence and control in self-management.
- We call for more effective and more integrated and holistic symptom management for all patients with kidney disease beyond traditional kidney therapies including effective strategies to identify and manage symptoms that cause suffering including pain, sleep issues, anxiety, depression, stress, mobility, frailty, and others and ask for more education and management strategies to alleviate these symptoms so that patients and their care-partners can have a better health-related quality of life.
To learn more about World Kidney Day, visit their website here.
Let's Go #Teal4PKD
Today is a great opportunity to remind your friends and family about World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month by using our #endPKD Facebook frame on your profile picture. Remember to snap a photo and share online using #Teal4PKD!
Be sure to follow us on social media with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for a variety of Kidney Month stories and photos. You can help spread awareness of PKD and the importance of keeping our kidneys healthy by sharing these posts through your social media channels as well.
3 Ways to Get Involved This Kidney Day
Learn- Get accurate and clear information about polycystic kidney disease and read answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about an ADPKD or ARPKD diagnosis.
Donate- One of the most powerful ways you can be a part of Kidney Month is by making a gift today. Your donation will help further the PKD Foundation of Canada's mission to promote programs of research, education, advocacy, support and awareness for PKD. Help make a difference in the lives of 66,000 Canadians and 12.5 million people affected by PKD. Donate today ! 
Volunteer- The PKD Foundation of Canada chapters and the volunteers who lead them are the backbone of the polycystic kidney disease (PKD) community, driving vital programs around the world. Connect with your local chapter to stay up to date on events within your community and for opportunities to support the PKD Foundation of Canada on a local level.
Don’t see a chapter near you? Email us to learn about starting a chapter in your local community.