The St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) celebrated International World Kidney day on Thursday March 14th 2019. World Kidney Day is a global campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of kidney health in our communities.
SMMC celebrated World Kidney Day in its patio organized by the Nephrology department in collaboration with Because of Prayer Miracle Centre sharing information on Kidney failure and Kidney Transplantation.
Nephrologists, Dr. Laima Siddiqi-Nadery and Dr. Gabe van Essen covered a wide range of topics including general kidney health, diabetes and kidney disease, associated complications, treatment options and kidney transplant. Attendees were also treated to presentations by a former dialysis patient who is also a kidney transplant recipient, Ms. Felecita Williams. She shared her experience with kidney disease, her transplantations experiences and was able to answer questions.
Dialysis Nurse, Ms. Georgina Mingau gave a comprehensive presentation on the processes and procedures of receiving a kidney transplant. Ms. Mingau was instrumental in the development of the transatlantic transplant collaboration between Amsterdam hospital and SMMC. The process increases the success rate of the transplantations, with reduced discomfort for the patients. Her presentation provided attendees with a greater insight on what can be expected for such a journey.
Overall the event proved to be a success with a full crowd in the SMMC patio.
Dr. Siddiqi-Nadery stated: “Awareness is a key ingredient in success. If you have it, teach it, if you lack it, seek it. It was a great day with a lot of information and awareness for the public. It was amazing to see the great number of attendees. I am looking forward to more informative sessions and gatherings soon.”
Upon conclusions of the program attendees were able to mingle and speak to the specialists and staff while enjoying refreshments.