International prize for renal research instituted

Defense Minister Prince Salman speaks while inaugurating the Fifth Saudi International Conference   An international prize for research in renal diseases has been set up in memory of the late Princess Sultana bint Turki bin Ahmed Al-Sudairi. The announcement was made by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman at the inauguration of the Fifth Saudi International Conference on Nephrology and Transplantation held at the King Fahd Cultural Center (KFCC) here on Sunday.
Defense Minister Prince Salman opened the conference in the presence of a distinguished gathering.
Prince Abdulaziz, general director of the conference, said the prize will be offered to the top three researches made in renal diseases. The awards will be given to winners at the next conference, he added.
Princess Sultana, who died in August last year, was the wife of Prince Salman and mother of Prince Abdulaziz.
Inaugurating the symposium, Prince Salman thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Abdullah for his magnanimous support to efforts in looking after kidney patients in the Kingdom.
“I am happy to be the president of Prince Fahd bin Salman Charity Association for Renal Failure Patients Care —‘Kellana’ for its services rendered to deserving patients,” the defense minister said.
Before inaugurating the symposium, Prince Salman opened an exhibition, which is running concurrently with the symposium at the precincts of the conference hall.
The function was attended by Riyadh Gov. Prince Sattam, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities Prince Sultan bin Salman, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, Higher Education Minister Khalid Al-Anqari and Yousuf bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, minister of social affairs.
Some 50 pharmaceutical companies and prominent hospitals displayed their products and services at the show.
More than 1,500 delegates and senior government officials and ministers were present at the glittering ceremony held at the KFCC auditorium.
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”).
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, general director of the conference, said the four-day meet is being held under the aegis of Prince Salman who had extended all support to the event as well as to all renal patients, irrespective of nationality and religion, who needed medical treatment in the Kingdom.
“Prince Salman's contributions to the kidney patients are highly commendable and they are meritorious acts that have benefited thousands of such patients,” said Prince Abdulaziz, who is also the general supervisor of Kellana.
He added the vast proliferation of renal failure obliged Prince Salman, then governor of Riyadh, to establish a charitable body to assist patients suffering from renal failure by providing medical and psychological treatment. At the time, he said there were only 800 renal failure patients that have now risen to 13,000 in the Kingdom.
The humanitarian services rendered by Kellana stemmed from the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and interior minister, who are interested in serving such patients, the prince said.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Abdul Kareem Al-Suwaida, chairman of the Saudi Society of Nephrology and Transplantation (SSNT) said the organizers were overwhelmed by the unprecedented response from health officials from various public and private institutions in the Kingdom.
Al-Suwaida hoped the forum would provide an excellent platform to investigate key issues in the whole spectrum of kidney diseases. “It will also help us to learn about the most recent clinical trials of treatment and to discuss the state-of-the-art treatment guidelines with the world's leading experts,” he stressed.
“Judging from the lineup of hospitals and medical health centers that have sent representatives to the conference, it bears eloquent testimony to confirm that the conference is scientifically rich,” Al-Suwaida said.
He added that representatives from King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH), National Guard, Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, and others are attending the event.
“The conference will focus on kidney transplantation and other related topics,” Al-Suwaida said, adding the event would include 20 international and 40 local speakers and the organizers would present 80 research papers on the subject.
He said the exhibition is supported by pharmaceutical companies and health institutions have come out with the latest technology on hemodialysis and some new medicines that are being introduced to kidney patients.
The organizing committee of the conference is headed by Faisal Al-Saif. 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.
The inauguration was preceded by sessions for medics and paramedics on Sunday. The sessions focused on post-transplantation treatment and services needed for patients.
On the sidelines of the sessions, Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Ghonaim, vice president of the SSNT, said the organization was founded in 2001 on the initiative of King Saud University and aims to promote the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases through leadership, education research and scientific communication.
He said the conference would bring the private and public sectors together on a common platform to work for the cause of kidney patients. He pointed out the SSNT looks after the scientific program of the renal diseases, while Kellana concentrates on the humanitarian elements of the disease.