Latest news with #KidneyResearchUK
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Man diagnosed with kidney failure thought he had stomach bug
A man who was diagnosed with blood cancer and kidney failure is aiming to raise awareness of organ Blackburn thought he had a stomach bug when he fell ill over Christmas 2022 but tests revealed he had myeloma, a blood cancer formed in the bone marrow, and kidney Blackburn, from Wedmore in Somerset, underwent chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and dialysis after his diagnosis in January 2023. Although his cancer is in remission, his kidney function has not 60-year-old keen cyclist is embarking on a 200-mile (322km) "Tour de Kidney" challenge spanning the Quantock and Blacktown hills later to raise money and awareness for Kidney Research UK. "Successful organ donation can transform chronically ill people with a high risk of dying and a poor quality of life, into healthy people," Mr Blackburn said. Mr Blackburn's condition left him unable to walk to the end of his road and he was transferred from Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton to renal experts at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital for urgent dialysis still undergoes four-hour dialysis sessions three times a week to flush his blood Blackburn said: "I was having that treatment alongside chemotherapy and I found it really difficult to tolerate.""From being fit and healthy to being told your kidneys have failed and you've cancer which is not curable? It's been a lot," he added. He joined the kidney transplant waiting list six months ago, but the average wait time for a donor is two to three years, according to the Blackburn will begin the "Tour de Kidney" later, accompanied by his son and some friends. "The distance is not insignificant, but combined with the climbs involved - the hills will total about 14,500 ft (4,419 metres) - which is half-way up Everest - which causes me a bit of apprehension," Mr Blackburn group is hoping to raise thousands of pounds through their efforts.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Loughborough student defies pain to complete epic run for charity
A PhD student said he ran "through pain" for five and a half days to finish a challenge to raise money for Stennett, who is also a teaching assistant at Loughborough University, ran about 186 miles (300km) to the top of hills throughout the Peak District in six days to raise funds for Kidney Research 30-year-old said he took on the challenge in support of his friend Sam Viravong and Sam's mum Manoly who was awaiting her second kidney Stennett initially set out to run 348 miles (560km) but was forced to reassess his target after experiencing knee and ankle pain about 50km into the challenge on day one. He said the injury was "frustrating" as he had done longer more intense training runs, and it meant he could not "keep up the pace" to complete the initial aim of the challenge. "I was running through pain for the first couple of days, it was quite severe. I think I've got quite a good pain tolerance, but that was kind of on the edge of my tolerance," he Stennett told the BBC that friends came to the Peak District and completed sections of the challenge with him, which he said gave him a "massive lift".He started the challenge at about 05:00 BST on 7 July, and finished on Saturday afternoon, raising more than £5,000 for Kidney Research UK."It was a massive surprise that we got to the amount that we have, we had no expectations going in," he said."Seeing all the messages on the JustGiving page has been really lovely, we've had people from the US and Australia send money - quite a lot of them, we don't even know."And there's some really heartfelt messages of people saying 'my sister donated her kidney' or 'my son needed a donation', and it's just stuff we didn't really expect and it's given the whole thing another layer of significance for us," he said. Mr Stennett decided to raise money for Kidney Research UK as his friend Sam's mum, Malony, has an autoimmune condition which meant she had a kidney transplant when the pair were Viravong - who is planning on becoming a kidney donor - told the BBC it was "really heartwarming" that Richard had decided to fundraise for Kidney Research in the said: "It means the world, first off the basis that there was no expectation for anybody to do anything for me, my mum and our family."Especially something of this magnitude for him to want to dedicate it and raise money for Kidney Research UK, thinking of my mum's kidney disease and struggle at the moment."Lucy Sreeves, executive director of Kidney Research UK, previously said the challenge was "extraordinary" in scale."He's taking on this huge physical feat in support of a friend's family, and in doing so, he's helping to raise awareness of a disease that affects millions," she said."Kidney disease is often invisible, but its impact is devastating. We're incredibly grateful to Richard for shining a light on the need for research and for inspiring others to take action."
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Evotec (EVO) Joins NURTuRE-AKI Consortium to Advance Kidney Injury Drug Discovery
Evotec SE (NASDAQ:EVO) is one of the 10 best healthcare penny stocks to buy according to analysts. On June 25, the company said it would participate in the NURTuRE-AKI consortium to investigate acute kidney injury (AKI) and advance drug discovery through multi-omics approaches. A research team in lab coats testing a new ImmunoPhage platform in a modern biotechnology lab. The NURTuRE-AKI consortium aims to establish the world's largest patient cohort database for AKI with twofold objectives: to enhance understanding of its molecular mechanisms and accelerate drug discovery. The consortium is supported by £4.7 million from industry partners, including Evotec, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), and Nephrolyx GmbH, facilitated by Kidney Research UK. Professor Nick Selby, a key researcher, oversees the AKI research efforts within the NURTuRE initiative. Besides helping fund the consortium, Evotec will integrate the consortium's data into its proprietary platform. The company will also conduct state-of-the-art omics analyses to identify core biological mechanisms, molecular targets, and biomarkers for AKI. Ultimately, the partnership enables Evotec to conduct targeted drug discovery by leveraging molecular insights into the progression of AKI. Evotec SE (NASDAQ:EVO) is a German biotechnology company. It operates as a drug discovery and development partner for pharmaceutical and biotech firms worldwide. Its two main segments are Shared R&D, which offers integrated research services, and Just–Evotec Biologics, which provides biologics development and manufacturing. While we acknowledge the potential of EVO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: Goldman Sachs Energy Stocks: 10 Stocks to Buy and 10 Best AI Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire David Tepper. Disclosure: None.
Scotsman
14-06-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Glasgow-born charity leader receives OBE at Windsor Castle
Glasgow-born Sandra Currie, chief executive of national charity Kidney Research UK, officially received her OBE from HRH The Prince of Wales yesterday at Windsor Castle. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sandra, who grew up in Drumchapel and trained as a psychiatric nurse at Gartnavel Royal Hospital, was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the King's New Year Honours, in recognition of her services to people affected by kidney disease. Under Sandra's leadership for 12 years, the charity has achieved significant growth, investing more than £71 million into research over the past decade, working to combat kidney disease in areas of health inequality and to influence national policy to secure earlier diagnoses and accelerate access to life-saving treatments. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With over 600,000 Scots estimated to be living with kidney disease, there is an urgent need for action to improve awareness and tackle the rapidly rising numbers of patients, which Sandra has championed throughout her tenure. Under Sandra's leadership for 12 years, the charity has achieved significant growth, investing more than £71 million into research over the past decade. 'It was a very special moment,' said Sandra. 'To represent the kidney community in such a setting was incredibly humbling. This honour helps raise the profile of a disease that affects one in ten people in the UK, can have devastating consequences for those who reach kidney failure, but is still overlooked. I'm grateful for the recognition, and more determined than ever to keep pushing for change.' Sandra continues to champion kidney health in Scotland and has worked closely with the Scottish Government, most recently through the charity's Scotland Action Plan for chronic kidney disease.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Kidney Research UK boss appointed OBE at special ceremony
A charity chief executive who has overseen more than £71m being ploughed into research for kidney disease has become an OBE at a special Currie, from Northampton, has been at Peterborough-based Kidney Research UK for more than 12 Wednesday she visited Windsor Castle to be appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Prince of Wales, which she called a "very special moment".She was recognised in the King's New Year Honours list earlier this year for her services to people affected by the disease. "To represent the kidney community in such a setting was incredibly humbling," she explained. "This honour helps raise the profile of a disease that affects one-in-ten people in the UK, can have devastating consequences for those who reach kidney failure, but is still overlooked. "I'm grateful for the recognition, and more determined than ever to keep pushing for change."There are more than 7.2m people living in the UK with kidney disease, including more than 80,000 in Northamptonshire, the charity Currie has worked to invest millions into research, as well as improve awareness of the disease. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
