Kidney Health Week: Show us your undies!

Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing Catherine King today urged Australians to ‘take the test’ as part of Kidney Health Australia’s national awareness campaign for the early detection of chronic kidney disease.

Launching ‘Red Undies Week’ in Sydney, Kidney Health Australia Ambassador Tim Mathieson encouraged anyone who is in a high risk category for kidney disease to take the test, because ‘it’s time for some decent exposure and prevention is better than cure’.

There are now more than 10,500 Australians on dialysis.

At 2 May 2012, there were 1,120 Australians with end stage kidney disease waiting for a transplant.

“There is no cure for kidney disease, but early detection can increase the life of your kidneys and keep you feeling your best for as long as possible”, said Anne Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Kidney Health Australia.

1 in 3 adult Australians is at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease and 1.7 million Australians over 25 have chronic kidney disease.
During KHA’s Red Undies Week, Australians are urged to find out if they are among the one in three adults at increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease.

Ms King also took the opportunity to pay tribute to all those working in the DonateLife Network and the Australian Paired Kidney Exchange Program.

“In 2009, there were 799 transplant recipients compared with 1,001 in 2011,” Ms King said. This represents a more than 25% increase in the first two full years of implementation.

“Whilst progress to date has been solid, there is no place for complacency, and much more is needed to be done if we are to improve our donation rates”.

(Source: Department of Health & Aging)