National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF)

From our humble beginnings when we first registered in the year 1969, National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF) strives to raise the standards of care we provide to patients with kidney failure and those who are suffering from various kidney-related diseases. In 1993, we opened the doors of our first dialysis centre at Jalan Hang Lekiu, Kuala Lumpur. Over the years, NKF has grown tremendously with the support from many parties. NKF has expanded its role from being just a dialysis treatment provider, to becoming a one-stop national resource centre for all kidney-related matters.

Fundraising

• NKF is a non-profit charity organization; thus, fundraising is an important component so that we can channel aid to the needy and sustain the organization.
• NKF’s patients are generally from the lower income group and these patients often could not afford dialysis treatments at private medical facilities which usually charge RM150 to RM250 for each dialysis sessions. NKF helps by subsidising the cost of the patients’ dialysis treatments, so that they are only required to pay a RM50 nominal fee per dialysis session.
• Every year, NKF needs to raise RM24.9 million to subsidise the dialysis treatments cost for 1681 patients who seek treatment at our 29 dialysis centres nationwide (as at April 2024). With the generous and kind support from various organizations and the public through donations, grants and various forms of financial support, we are able to subsidise the treatment cost for the patients on dialysis.

Training

• Aside from providing affordable, subsidised dialysis treatments for kidney patients, NKF takes a step further to design and develop the syllabus for Malaysia’s one and only specialised training course for Dialysis Assistants, the Haemodialysis Induction Course, thereby raising the standards of care we provide to patients suffering from kidney diseases.
• Dialysis Assistants are care givers who assist staff nurses in providing on-site assistance to kidney failure patients undergoing dialysis. They are usually sent for training by their employers, including private hospitals, clinics, NGOs and other charity organizations that run dialysis centres.
• This 3-month training programme is also suitable for Nurses that are new to the Dialysis Industry. Upon completing this 3-month course, the trainees will receive a Certificate of Competency and are better able to take care of the patients undergoing dialysis treatment.

Public education

• Today, the standards of living are higher and our lifestyles change dramatically as the nation’s economy continues to develop and progress further. Dining out and eating excessively, coupled with lack of exercise and the extreme demands of most modern jobs have greatly altered our diets as compared to 20 or 30 years ago.
• Even fast food – high in salt and fat content, has penetrated the rural towns and villages; resulting in the rural dwellers today experiencing a steady rise in diabetes and hypertension, which were once considered the “rich men’s diseases.”
• Unfortunately, diabetes and hypertension are not just a growing health problem in Malaysia; these two diseases are also the most common contributors to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) – in simpler terms, end-stage kidney failure. According to the 18th Report of the Malaysian Dialysis and Transplant Registry 2010, 56% out of the total 4,522 new cases of dialysis patients are diabetics and 8% are hypertensive.
• To combat the rising figures of patients suffering from kidney-related diseases, NKF plays a major role in educating the public on the prevention and management of kidney diseases, and also, creating awareness on kidney care. Hence, providing education to the public is one of the most essential functions of NKF, as the saying goes “Prevention is always better than cure.”
• The Public Education Department was set up specifically to reach-out to the public and to educate them on the causes, prevention and management of kidney diseases. Currently, health talks, public forums, health screening and counselling are conducted on a regular basis in various cities and towns throughout Malaysia.
• NKF constantly reaches out to the public via the mass media such as radio, television, newspapers and magazines alike – to disseminate information on various kidney-related matters as part of our social responsibility.
• The opening of NKF – Berjaya Resource Centre in June 2011 marks another milestone for NKF’s tremendous growth as the organization is committed to be a one-stop national resource centre for the treatment and knowledge of kidney diseases.
• Based in NKF’s headquarters at Petaling Jaya, the NKF – Berjaya Resource Centre offers various amenities set in a comfortable environment for the public, patients, well-wishers, NKF members and staff to learn and gain insight on the prevention and management of kidney diseases. Dialysis patients are also welcomed to attend health talks, to seek counselling or even to attend handicraft workshops conducted at the resource centre.
• We are confident that NKF – Berjaya Resource Centre, as part of a holistic care component, can help ensure patients on dialysis to have better health and continued well-being.
• In line with NKF’s 2nd Mission, NKF is supporting National Transplant Resources Centre (NTRC) of Ministry of Health in promoting organ donation and transplantation. We also working with other agencies such as Malaysian Society of Transplantation.
• In year of 2013, Sunway Group Bhd have supported fund for this Organ Donation Campaign (ODC) for 3 years with the objective to educate the community about organ donation and organ transplantation as an alternative treatment for patients with end stage organ failure. We have Organ Donation Promotion Unit at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall which it was the first Organ Donation Promotion Unit in a mall in Malaysia.
• In view of the number of organ pledgers in Malaysia is only about 1.1%, therefore NKF via its Public Education Department is determined to support NTRC to double their effort in promoting kidney transplantation.

Welfare

• Often, patients are traumatized when they found out that they have end-stage kidney failure, and that to survive, they need continuous dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant. For them, the future seems bleak and uncertain – spending the rest of their lives on dialysis support and massive medical bills.
• Fortunately, with NKF’s Welfare Department, help is just a phone call away. Our welfare officers are on stand-by to counsel and aide patients to overcome their initial depression and put them on track to a full psychological recovery.
• NKF’s Welfare Department also understands that many kidney failure patients are unemployed and are unable to hold regular jobs unless they undergo a successful kidney transplant surgery. These patients need dialysis treatments 13 times a month, and four hours per dialysis session – causing them unable to have normal working lives.
• As part of NKF’s commitment to holistic care, our Welfare Department instituted various job placements and financial assistance schemes to help our patients to earn a living through self-employment.