Whites star backs vital kidney checks (From This Is Lancashire)

Whites star backs vital kidney checks

12:20pm Sunday 14th March 2010 in

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BOLTON Wanderers ace Ivan Klasnic is backing a new campaign urging people to have a potentially life-saving kidney check.

The Croatian striker, who has had two kidney transplants, said his operations could have been avoided if his disease had been picked up earlier.

He said: “Kidney disease is often a silent disease but a simple blood pressure check may indicate early diagnosis.

“Had my kidney disease been picked up early I feel that I could have avoided having not one, but two kidney transplants.”

Klasnic is now supporting a new campaign by Kidney Research UK to raise awareness of the problem.

Research by the charity shows that three million people across the country are at risk of kidney disease, but few go for a simple check-up at their doctor's surgery.

Kidney Research UK says high blood pressure is the second most common cause of kidney disease after diabetes, and a blood pressure check could catch the disease in its early stages and save lives.

There are already 1.7 million people living with kidney disease in the UK, and more than 3,000 people die every year while on dialysis.

Nine out of 10 people on the organ donor list need a kidney transplant — about 7,000 people across the country.

Kidney Research UK chief executive Charles Kernahan said: “A transplanted kidney lasts, on average, for 10 to 15 years.

“We are currently researching to try to make a transplanted kidney for life. More needs to be done.”

An online self-assessment tool can be found at nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Kidneydisease.