The four-day event is being organized by the Saudi Society of Nephrology and Transplantation and Prince Fahd Bin Salman Charity Association for Renal Failure Patients Care — ‘Kellana.’

“It is a major conference that would focus on kidney transplantation and other related topics,” Al-Suwaida said, adding that the event would include 20 international and 40 local speakers and the organizers would present 80 research papers on the subject.

The conference, which is to be inaugurated by Defense Minister Prince Salman, will also feature an exhibition, where a large number of pharmaceutical companies and health institutions would display their products and services during the four days of the symposium. The organizing committee of the conference is headed by Faisal Al-Said. The scientific committee headed by Dr. Khalid Al-Meshari has prepared an informative scientific program to bring together an international faculty of experts in the fields of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), Dialysis, Transplantation and Hypertension.

Al-Suwaida said the committee has chosen various topics that focus on nephrology. “Major element of the program would include plenary sessions and keynote speakers with the presentation by world renowned experts.”

The Saudi Society of Nephrology and Transplantation was founded in 2001, under the initiative of King Saud University, a premier educational institution in the Middle East, and aims to promote the prevention and treatment of kidney disease through leadership, education research and scientific communication.

“Our goal is to impart scientific knowledge in the Nephrology and Transplantation field. We have an accessible team dedicated to improving the renal care. To help accomplish this purpose, the society is committed to organizing activities, which include workshops, courses, seminars, and international conferences. These activities have been highly successful, reflecting the commitment and contributions of the society’s activities.

“Optional nursing preconference workshops are just one of the exciting features of the conference. In addition, concurrent sessions will provide attendees with a choice of “hot” topics addressing current issues and trends in nephrology nursing practice.

He said that the conference would enhance the clinical and management skills of the participants and help them learn about the latest trends in nephrology practice.

Speaking about the renal problem in the Kingdom, Al-Suwaida said that this is becoming a major problem in the country with an annual increase of 1,500 to 2000 patients a year. Currently, he said that there are 13,000 (End-Stage-of Renal Disease-ESRD) dialysis patients in the Kingdom and majority of them are on hemodialysis.

He explained that 35 percent of the ESRD patients are related to diabetes and 25 percent are due to hypertension. “Renal problem due to these two diseases are preventable, which means we can cut down 50 percent of the ESRD patients with early diagnosis and treatment.”

He also said that his society does not have accurate figures of the number of CKD patients. “It will be much more than the number of ESRD patients,” he noted.

In a message to the readers, Al-Suwaida said that renal disease is preventable. People must conduct regular screening for such diseases, this would lead one to early detection and timely treatment, he stressed. The period of screening could vary from children to adults and diabetics to normal patients, he added.

“People should not wait till a disease strikes to go for such clinical tests. Regular routine tests would definitely serve the purpose.”

To prevent the disease, he said besides the screening test, one must drink more water and should not take medicines that are not prescribed by the doctors. In desperation, he noted that patients tend to consume various medicines that can aggravate the condition of their disease.

With a loss of kidney function from the stress of chronic diseases, toxins build-up in the kidneys instead of being excreted and secondary problems arise; like high blood pressure or anemia. Recognizing kidney disease symptoms early can actually help to avoid permanent damage, also known as CKD.

Normally the kidneys balance a variety of substances that leave and enter the blood stream through its filtration system. These essential organs are in control of the equilibrium of electrolytes (sodium, calcium and potassium) in one’s bloodstream and they are responsible for urine formation. The kidneys also play a vital role in red blood cell formation as well as many metabolic hormones. Most kidney disease symptoms are manifestations of an imbalance in one of these processes.

Some evidence of chronic kidney weakness can include lower back pain, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), premature graying of the hair, constant exhaustion, impotence and frigidity, excessive urination, wheezing and morning diarrhea. These are all indicators of waste products containing nitrogen and ammonia building-up in the kidneys, and if left untreated, they ultimately cause disease.

Abnormal characteristics of urine output are also relative kidney disease symptoms. Any urine with cloudiness or foul odor can mean the presence of blood, bile, bacteria or large amounts of toxins in the system.