Financial Ombudsman Service raises more than £20,000 for kidney research 15 May 2024 Our charity partnership with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) comes to an end in April 2024, after two successful years of fundraising and awareness raising as part of their ‘Giving Something Back’ initiative.  Managed by the ‘Giving Something Back’ committee, staff at the FOS, which settles disputes between customers and financial service providers, raised more than £20,000 to further research into kidney disease. They achieved this by participating in a range of challenges, including a bungee ..read more

“I’m celebrating five years since my transplant, and won’t ever let kidney disease stop me from living my life” 15 May 2024 Proving people wrong is something that Kirran Willerton, 35 from Glasgow, has been determined to do throughout her life. Born with Conradi-Hunermann syndrome – a rare disorder which affects skeletal development – and diagnosed with kidney disease at three years old, Kirran has fought to maintain her independence and fulfil her ambitions.  Now she is celebrating the fifth anniversary of her kidney transplant - her kidneyversary - and is reflecting on her experien ..read more

“Chronic kidney disease severely impacted my mental health” 15 May 2024 In 2012, while working as a paramedic, Izzy, 48 from Bradford, received the shocking news that he was at stage four of kidney failure. Izzy had been living with a type of kidney disease called IgA nephropathy, which had caused his kidney function to drop to just 15%.   Living with kidney disease has had huge ramifications for Izzy, a father of five, forcing him to leave his career, lose a significant part of his income and struggle with his mental health.   Izzy says: “When I was diagnosed, I just ..read more

“Nurses have a special relationship with patients and can drive research” 10 May 2024 Ahead of International Nurses Day on Sunday 12 May, we spoke to Pam Yanez, former directorate manager for renal services in Newcastle, about her career and our upcoming campaign to encourage more renal nurses to become involved in research. Funded opportunities will be available with Kidney Research UK from summer 2024, for nurses to learn more about research, apply for research grant awards and take academic qualifications. Pam, from Newcastle, currently holds several prominent voluntary roles supportin ..read more

Joining Kidney Research UK’s Newcastle Bridges Walk in memory of Grandad 09 May 2024 When Kidney Research UK returns to Newcastle on 16 June for the Bridges Walk, Chloe Hall and her family will be there once again to join Team Kidney in transforming the lives of those affected by kidney disease.   Chloe, 23 from Northumberland, and her mum, Emma, have both been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), while her grandad, Derek, passed away from the condition in 2023, aged 68.  Chloe, who is working towards a degree in childhood studies, says: “When we joined the Newca ..read more

“Within 48 hours kidney disease had changed my life” 09 May 2024 On a Tuesday night in April 2019, Hiren Samgi, a 36-year-old business owner from Richmond, was enjoying a regular evening playing football with friends. Just two days later, he was in hospital having been diagnosed with kidney disease.  Hiren says: “I knew something was not right as I’d be having severe headaches, so I went to the GP on Wednesday morning. I didn’t have any other obvious symptoms, but when he checked my blood pressure, it was sky high. I was told I needed to go to hospital, and it quickly became clear wh ..read more

Call for more living kidney donors as new poll shows just 13% would consider donating to a stranger. 08 May 2024 Former footballer Andy Cole and TV’s Married at First Sight’s Marilyse Corrigan are amongst those backing a new initiative to encourage more people to consider living kidney donation as a new poll reveals just 13% would consider donating a kidney to a stranger, despite 80% of people believing you can change someone’s life even if you’ve never met them. The poll, undertaken by YouGov, is part of a new UK-wide campaign, Make Your Mark, launched by two national charities to encour ..read more

“I fit dialysis around my life, and won’t let kidney disease define me” 07 May 2024 Despite three failed kidney transplants, and the prospect of needing dialysis treatment for the rest of her life, Lynzie Stephenson is defiantly living hers.   She says: “Mentally I’m a positive person so I try not to dwell on things too much. You just adjust to it. I work full-time and I’m lucky that I can do my dialysis at home. I can still go out, socialise with friends and go on holiday.  “On 16 June I’ll be at Kidney Research UK’s Newcastle Bridges Walk with my friend Paula, who has exp ..read more

Rare disease alters twin sisters’ lives forever 07 May 2024 Twin sisters, Ellie and Leyna Parkinson, had their lives changed forever in October 2022, when Leyna was unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare form of kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). They later discovered this was caused by a mutation in a gene called inverted formin 2 (INF2), and that Ellie has the same condition.  Now 24 years old, both sisters are struggling to come to terms with their diagnosis and what it means for their futures. Leyna says: “I thought I knew the direction my life was going ..read more

I fear for my son’s future living with kidney disease 03 May 2024 At 20 weeks pregnant, Haley Harrison and her husband, Adam, from County Down, Northern Ireland, were told that their child, Jenson, would be born with just one functioning kidney. Now four years old, Jenson is making his parents hugely proud with his positivity, despite the many hospital stays, scans, blood draws and need for regular medication.  Haley says: “He doesn’t let anything get in his way and takes everything in his stride. He is our positivity, but we do fear for the future with existing treatments for kidney ..read more