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Home | About us | Committees | Kidney Relief in Disasters Committee

Kidney Relief in Disasters Committee

Kidney Relief in Disasters Committee

About us

Shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine the ERA established the Renal Disaster Relief Task Force. Its mission was to support people with kidney disease and the nephrology community in Ukraine. Today, the situation for kidney patients in Ukraine is more stable and therefore there is no urgent need for specific intervention.

After a recent meeting of the latter Task Force, a unanimous decision was reached to change its name to the “Kidney Relief in Disasters”. This name signifies an expanded mission, encompassing the continued support of renal patients and their healthcare professionals across countries within the ERA’s geographical jurisdiction facing natural and/or man-made disasters.

If you are in need of help, please contact us.

Contacts

krd@era-online.org

Regulations

Disaster preparedness saves lives!

The Kidney Relief in Disasters Committee of the European Renal Association (ERA), in collaboration with the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN) and the European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association (EDTNA/ERCA), invites kidney healthcare professionals across the ERA region to complete the Disaster Preparedness Survey for Kidney Healthcare Professionals.

The survey assesses personal and professional experiences with disasters and current disaster preparedness level. Responses will guide policymakers, emergency planners, and kidney community leaders to strengthen disaster preparedness. The survey is open to ALL PROFESSIONALS INVOLVED IN KIDNEY CARE—not only those in leadership roles or with prior disaster-management experience.

Please complete the survey and help us enhance disaster preparedness in kidney care!

Complete the survey

Earthquakes and People on Dialysis

This illustrated booklet provides essential, practical instructions to help dialysis patients stay safe before, during, and after earthquakes. It explains general protective measures for everyone, and specific, step-by-step guidance for people on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis – including how to prepare medical documents, manage treatment interruptions, handle emergencies, and adapt diet when dialysis is disrupted -.
This manual aims to increase awareness, preparedness, and survival of dialysis patients during seismic disasters.

If you are interested in supporting the translation of this manual into your language, please contact national_societies@era-online.org for more information.

EXPLORE THE MANUAL

This material is available for download in:
Arabic, Bulgarian, German, Macedonian, Russian

Translation Acknowledgements

Arabic: Housam Rabah

Bulgarian: Mila Hadjieva; Rumen Filev

Macedonian: Nikola Gjorgjievski

Russian: Helena Zakharova; Ekaterina Parshina

Guiding documents for doctors and nurses

Recommendations

  1. Recommendations for the management of crush victims in mass disasters (M. S Sever – R. Vanholder) – English version
  2. Recommendations for the management of crush victims in mass disasters (M. S Sever – R. Vanholder) – Short field English version
  3. Other languages:
    Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian

Slide shows

  1. AKI in disasters Slideshow (M. S Sever – R. Vanholder)

Publications for doctors and nurses

  1. Disasters and kidney care: pitfalls and solutions (2023)
  2. Continuing kidney care in conflicts (2022)
  3. Armed conflicts and kidney patients: a consensus statement from the Renal Disaster Relief Task Force of the ERA. NDT. (2022)
  4. Kidney transplantation during mass disasters—from COVID-19 to other catastrophes: a Consensus Statement by the DESCARTES Working Group and Ethics Committee of the ERA. NDT. (2022)
  5. The disasters of war. On kidney patients in the Ukrainian–Russian war. Journal of Nephrology (2022)
  6. War in Ukraine: the price of dialysis patients’ survival. Journal of Nephrology. (2022)
  7. Wars and kidney patients: a statement by the European Kidney Health Alliance related to the Russian‑Ukrainian conflict. Journal of Nephrology. (2022)
  8. Disaster preparedness and evacuation plan (DPEP) in haemodialysis units: patients’ emergency self-disconnection through “Clamp and Cut” procedure. EDTNA/ERCA (2021) 
  9. “Conflict Nephrology”, Seminars in Nephrology (2020)
  10. Disaster nephrology: a new concept for an old problem. CKJ. (2015)
  11. Renal disaster relief: from theory to practice. NDT. (2009)

Guiding documents for Public and Relief Coordinators

  1. UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)
  2. EKHA & EKPF open letter ‘Protecting Chronic Kidney Disease patients amid the conflict in Ukraine’
  3. Help for Ukraine – Допомога Україні

Guiding documents for patients

Booklet 

  1. Earthquakes and People on Dialysis

Infographic

  1. Disasters and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients (Infographic – Rumeyza Kazancioglu)
  2. Armed conflicts and patients living with kidney disease (Infographic – Mehmet Şükrü Sever)
    Other languages:
    French, Ukranian

Slide show

  1. Armed conflicts and pediatric dialysis/renal transplant patients (Slide show – Lale Sever)
Shape

Ongoing and upcoming projects

Committee Members

Mehmet Şükrü Sever

Mehmet Şükrü Sever

Chair
Türkiye

Dina Abdellatif, Egypt

Mabel Aoun, France

Giuseppe Grandaliano, Italy

Rümeyza Kazancioğlu, Türkiye

Valerie Luyckx, Switzerland

Ewa Pawlowicz-Szlarska, Poland

Andrej Skoberne, Slovenia

Raymond Vanholder, Belgium