The Cape Kidney Association is a grassroots non-profit organization that raises funds to assist with the needs of patients and families suffering from chronic kidney disease.

The Association was established in 1978 by a group of concerned nephrology health care professionals and presently consists of a variety of professional staff working in the renal (kidney) areas, renal patients (on dialysis and those who have been transplanted) and their relatives.

The Cape Kidney Association has enjoyed the patronage of the Office of the Mayor of Cape Town since its inception.

The next annual World Kidney Day will be held on the 12th of March 2009.This annual event under the auspices of the International Society,aim to increase awareness on various aspects of chronic kidney disease on a global front .

The South African Transplant Sports Asociation has a new informative website with great pictures of competing transplant recipients. Visit them at www.transplantsports.org.za. The 2008 National Transplant Games was held at the High Performance Centre of the University in Pretoria from 25 to 27 September.

25 OCTOBER 2008 - WORLD’S BIGGEST WALK: Raising worldwide awareness for organ donation
The Worlds Biggest Walk is the initiative of a liver recipient in Australia who has been working with a number of Organ Donor Associations around the world. As part of a global initiative, the Worlds Biggest Walk took place at 2pm on Saturday, 25 October 2008. Its aim was to raise global awareness for organ donation by encouraging people to walk 5km at exactly the same time across 5 continents around the world.

The Annual Cape Kidney Association Cycle Ride was held under the auspices of the Pedal Power Association for the first time from the Nitida Wine Estate in Durbanville. The weather conditions was perfect and all cyclists reported excellent cycling conditions on the hilly but very scenic route. Great thanks must go to all the volunteers that assisted with marshalling , parking and registration. Special thanks to the Bernard Veller and the management of Nitida Wine  Estate, and Bob of Cafe Nitida for the use of their premises.

The Vredenburg Provincial Hospital Dialysis Unit has now moved into new premises in the newly built Vredenburg Provincial Hospital. National Renal Care has been tasked to provide the management of the Renal Unit as part of a community project , with access offered to both state and private dialysis patients.

The further management of the Hermanus Provincial Hospital Dialysis Unit has also been sourced out to Fresenius Medical Care. They will continue further management of the Dialysis Unit , with access to both private and state sector dialysis patients. A new Dialysis Unit will be build shortly to accommodate more dialysis patients.

The 30th Annual AGM of the CKA was held at 17h00 on Tuesday 9th December 2008 at the Greenways Hotel in Cape Town. The use of the venue is kindly sponsored by the Managing Director , Mrs. Susanne Faussner-Ringer .

Guest speaker: Sindiwe Magona - author, poet, playwright, essayist, storyteller, actor and inspirational speaker who recently retired from the United Nations in New York after twenty years and relocated to her home country, South Africa. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her work in women's issues, the plight of children and the fight against apartheid and racism. A prolific writer, Magona has written and published over 40 books to date with her latest being launched this month.