Kidney Dialysis & Transplantation - KDT Program Fund
KDT Program Fund: Kidney Research with Impact
Established in 2013, the Kidney, Dialysis and Transplantation (KDT) Research Program has an impressive track record of advancing research that improves patient health, and health care delivery, across the spectrum of kidney disease and transplantation.
The KDT Research Program brings together a large community of kidney researchers and clinical experts, many of whom are internationally recognized for their work, including clinicians, statisticians and epidemiologists as well as specialists in knowledge translation, project management, information security and privacy, and technology.
Using complex data sets and state-of-the-art analyses, the program employs a multidisciplinary approach to tackle today’s biggest kidney health challenges. With roots in London, the program leverages partnerships with scientists and health care providers across Ontario, Canada and the world to continuously innovate kidney care.
Findings from this research have been used to guide decision-making in health care policy and delivery in tangible ways that have sometimes dramatically improved the lives of kidney patients and their families. To date, the team has tackled a wide range of topics including drug safety and effectiveness, dialysis safety and improvement, improving the efficiency of the transplant process, and the long-term impacts of transplantation for both recipients and living kidney donors.
Current projects include:
Improving Kidney Care for At-Risk Patients in Ontario, which will utilize laboratory data to offer outreach and support to Ontario residents at high risk of kidney failure in the next two years who are not in the care of a nephrologist.
The Hemodialysis Improvement Project, which explores large-scale evaluations of simple, scalable solutions to improve the safety and efficacy of hemodialysis care.
The Drug Interaction and Unsafe Practices Project, which is examining over 100 drugs and common health practices that may negatively impact kidney care.
The Safely Increasing Living Kidney Donation Project, which engages kidney donors and patients to identify barriers and solutions to living donor transplant, including following a large group of kidney donors over decades to understand long-term safety.
The Transplant Ambassador Program (TAP), which is a patient-led initiative that pairs kidney patients and potential kidney donors with kidney transplant recipients and living kidney donors to provide information and support. The program collaborates with the Ontario Renal Network and Trillium Gift of Life Network to integrate these volunteer peer supporters into renal centre processes across Ontario.
For more information about these or other current research projects, please contact Susan McKenzie, Manager of Partnerships for the KDT Research Program, at 226.921.5642 or susan@kidney-research.ca.
To make an online donation to the Kidney, Dialysis & Transplantation - KDT Program Fund at London Community Foundation, please complete the form on the right side of this page. If you wish to designate your gift to a specific project, please note this in the box that says “write a private message to us.”
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