SPRINGFIELD – To bring greater awareness and education for kidney health, State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) commemorated March 2022 as Kidney Disease Awareness Month and March 10, 2022 as Kidney Day through the passage of a Senate resolution.

 “Across the state, people are silently suffering with the pain and hardship that comes with kidney disease,” Turner said. “We are showing those with kidney disease we see them and we understand the struggles they continue to face.”

Chronic kidney disease is a progressive, gradual loss of kidney function, which results in a decrease in the ability of the kidneys to remove waste from the body. Without diagnosis and treatment to slow its progression, CKD can progress to end-stage renal failure, which is fatal unless the patient receives dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The average wait for a transplant is 3.6 years. Turner’s measure will educate the public before they get to that need of a transplant. In 2020, only one in four candidates on the waiting list received a transplant. Regular screening and early detection can prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure. Some of the symptoms of Kidney Disease are nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, sleep problems, urinating more or less and decreased mental sharpness.

“It is essential to raise awareness and stress the importance of prevention and early detection,” Turner said. “The goal is to get individuals screened and treated before the disease progresses to kidney failure.”

Senate Resolution 812 passed the Senate Thursday.