Research and Donations

Research

Kidney Research UK is dedicated to improving the understanding of kidney disease, its causes, treatment and management through funding research, with confidence that it can build on the advances and scientific breakthroughs that have been made by researchers – many of them supported by the Charity – during the past forty years. They continue to recognise the importance of training and research to which they allocate 75% of their charitable income.

Research Strategy

Kidney Research UK is dedicated to improving the understanding of kidney disease, its causes, prevention and treatment. The Charity’s main research objective is to support a wide range of projects by UK scientists, through a combination of open response-mode calls and commissioned research in strategically important areas.

They believe that understanding basic mechanisms of kidney disease through high-quality research is important for developing novel treatments and for prevention. The spectrum of studies we support ranges from molecular investigation of how molecules, genes and cells work through to clinical trials and health services research, relating to kidney disease, dialysis and transplantation.

All the research they fund is peer-reviewed, and only the best science is supported, within the available funding limits. The Charity endorses the AMRC position that animals should only be used for research if it is essential and there is no alternative.

The Charity recognises that training of basic and clinical scientists is an essential investment for the future of kidney health in the UK. They award training fellowships to clinicians to support their career development and the Charity also seeks to provide support for young scientists to undertake a PhD, undergo postdoctoral training, or through senior fellowships to establish themselves as independent researchers.

Clinical trials provide the evidence on which to base treatment decisions. Providing funding for large-scale trials is very costly and is currently beyond the scope of the Charity alone. However, they are able to support smaller pilot studies, and to work in partnership with other research funders, professional associations and the pharmaceutical industry to support larger-scale clinical trials.

In areas where a strategic need is identified by the Charity and the renal community, they aim to support specific research projects and broader initiatives. These are often undertaken in partnership with other organisations. Such projects and initiatives are most likely to take the form of commissioned research, that looks to inform health policy and/or show significant impact on the health and well being of people at risk of, or already identified with, kidney disease.

Research Objectives

Kidney Research UK wish to support research that is relevant to the understanding of the kidneys and urinary tract system and the disease processes affecting them. There is a particular desire to support work leading to improved management, treatment and prevention of kidney disease and it’s complications.

Where Donations Go

One of the best ways to find out how your sponsorship money helps is to illustrate how the money is spent by Kidney Research UK.  Some examples are listed below to give an idea of where your money may be used to help.

£15 – Fund the Future - Funds two hours of work for a research PhD student, carrying out vital new research into FSGS.  Most PhD students rely on studentship funding to enable them to continue their studies.  They will be using the research study they are working on to enable them to write their thesis for their PhD, allowing them to continue to further develop in their research career.

£25 – Access for those in Need – Allows the funding of one driving lesson for a kidney patient, and thus find work which fitted in with their hospital dialysis treatment, provided through Kidney Patients Support Grant Scheme.

£35 – Education – Training materials to educate at-risk groups, led by a peer educator.

£50 – Awareness – Printing costs for a campaign to educate approximately 100 people about the early signs of kidney problems.

£75 – Research Materials – Can fund the use of a one month course of cyclosporin to be used in clinical trials.  This is normally used to try to prevent the rejection of kidney transplants and has been trailed in patients with FSGS.

£100 – Family Support – For example, a grant given to a family to visit their child in hospital who was receiving treatment, covering travel costs.

£150 – Help Keep a Child Safe – Would, for example, help a single mother on home haemodialysis to keep their child safe whilst they receive dialysis.

More information can be found on the Kidney Research Website.