the kidney-link newsletter of the kidney foundation of canada / quebec branch

Kidney-LinkVolume 23 • No.2 • Fall 2011 Quebec Branch Newsletter

The foundation of kidney care

Your Health Nocturnal home hemodialysis

• A word from the President ........................................ 2• Prizes Awarded at the Annual Conference ................. 3• News from the Chapters ........................................... 5• Patient Services......................................................... 7

• Organ Donation......................................................... 8• Research ................................................................... 9• Bulletin Board .......................................................... 10

The Walk of The Kidney Foundation of CanadaOn Sunday, May 15, over 1,100 people in Chicoutimi,Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke andTrois-Rivières took part in The Kidney Walk andraised $210,000 to support people with kidney diseaseand raise public awareness of the importance oforgan donation. The Kidney Foundation of Canadawishes to thank its sponsors and volunteers, as wellas the generous donors who got involved in thisyear’s Kidney Walk.

The sponsors who contributed to the success of the2011 Kidney Walk:

Pfizer • Astellas • Clément • Hindu Mandir • Wendy’s• La Revue Info07.com • La Commission de la capi-tale nationale du Québec • Rythme FM

A new president for TheKidney Foundation ofCanada – QuebecBranchThe Quebec Branchwelcomes i ts newpresident, ChristopherGobeil. Read his firstmessage on ppaaggee 22..

“Gift of Life” HumanitarianAward BFI Usine de Triage La-chenaie Ltée receivesthe 2011 “Gift of Life”Humanitarian Award. PPaaggee 88

Despite the poor weather, huge numbers of Quebecers turned up totake part in the Kidney Walk.

Together we can make a difference

A word from the presidentI have been a volunteer with The Kidney Foundation of Canada at variouslevels and roles for the last 20 years. Last May in Val d’Or, by electing mePresident of the Quebec Branch, the members of the Foundation gave mea great honour, and an equally great responsibility.

It is a position that I do not take on lightly, nor without knowledge that itwill involve a fair bit of work. Yet I take it on gladly, because The KidneyFoundation is a hard-working and dedicated charity; built by thousands ofvolunteers who represent every aspect of our society proudly, with dedi-cation and resolve.

We know that no matter what we do, for one reason or another, peoplewill suffer from kidney dysfunction, disease or failure. Yet we never give

up, and we cannot give in. So we promote research into causes, prevention and treatment of kidneydysfunction and disease. Since it was established in Montreal in 1964, The Kidney Foundation of Canadahas invested over $100 million in research grants, which have resulted in solid and measurable impro-vements in the lives and outcomes of kidney patients.

We know from hard scientific research and cold economic facts that the best outcome that we can offerthose suffering renal failure is a kidney transplant. So we dedicate our resources towards promotingorgan donation wherever we can.

Over the past few years we have successfully launched our Kidney Walks throughout Quebec, which bothpromote organ donation and raise funds in a way that is very cost-effective. This year our Kidney Walkswere very successful and are now held in six cities: Chicoutimi, Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec City, Sher-brooke and Trois-Rivières. We attracted 1,100 walkers, and raised a record amount of $210,000. We alsoobtained significant positive media coverage throughout Quebec, for both organ donation in general,and The Kidney Foundation in particular.

Our organization is not funded by governments, but relies on a multitude of donations made by concer-ned and well-wishing individuals like you and me. Our Branch has worked very hard over the years tooptimize the way that we raise money and invest towards the fulfillment of our Mission. We can be veryproud of the work that we have done. This will help us going into the future, because in today’s ultra-com-petitive charity environment, evidence of waste will cause people to quickly change their charitable gi-ving habits.

Everything that we do is built with the dedication and perseverance of our volunteers, working togetherwith our small team of permanent staff. I want to thank you all for your heroic efforts, and encourage thoseof you who can, to volunteer with us. I assure you that my time as a volunteer with the Foundation hasinvolved some hard work, but mostly it has involved building our organization together with some of thefinest people you could ever hope to meet.

In closing, I would like to personally thank one of those fine people, Alain Ouimet, who has been the Pre-sident of our Branch for the past two years. Alain has done a fantastic job of leading the Branch, fromworking on the development of our volunteers and Chapters to representing our Branch at the Nationallevel of the Foundation. His warmth, kindness and professionalism have provided the leadership ourBranch has required, and have set a great example for me to follow.

Thanks, Alain!

Christopher Gobeil

President of The Kidney Foundation of Canada – Quebec Branch

2 Kidney-Link • Fall 2011

The personal information youhave provided is used only tosend you this newsletter. To stopreceiving it, please e-mail us [email protected] or call usat 514-938-4515.

Readers: You can help enrich ournewsletter by sharing your expe-riences with kidney disease or kid-ney transplantation. Please send atext of no more than 300 words,along with a high-resolution photo,to [email protected].

CCOOOORRDDIINNAATTIIOONN AANNDD WWRRIITTIINNGGAntoine Ardiley

GGRRAAPPHHIICCSS AANNDD PPUUBBLLIISSHHIINNGGArdecom

PPRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN Ardecom

CCOONNTTAACCTT UUSS:: The Kidney Foundation of Canada– Quebec Branch2300 René-Lévesque Blvd West,Montreal, QC H3H 2R5

TTEELLEEPPHHOONNEE 514-938-4515 or 1-800-565-4515

FFAAXX 514-938-4757

EE--MMAAIILL [email protected]

CCiirrccuullaattiioonn:: 1100,,000000 ccooppiieess

The Kidney-Link newsletter andYour Health insert are publishedthree times a year by the QuebecBranch of The Kidney Foundationof Canada. Distributed in Englishand French to all people sufferingfrom kidney failure, these publi-cations provide valuable informa-tion on the Foundation’s servicesand activities, including the latestfindings on kidney disease andorgan donation.

The opinions expressed in Kid-ney-Link and Your Health do notnecessarily reflect those of theQuebec Branch of The KidneyFoundation of Canada, its direc-tors, employees or members.

Moving? Please let us know [email protected].

Articles may be reproduced pro-vided that the source is quoted.

The Foundation would like to thank for its contribution to this Kidney-Link Edition.

Your donation goes a long way at The Kidney Foundation

Kidney-Link • Fall 2011 3

Recognition awards given out at the 2011 Annual Conference

TThhee PPrreessiiddeenntt’’ss AAwwaarrdd was given to LLéévvii TTrroottttiieerr in recognition of his loyalty andexceptional support in the organization of the door-to-doorcampaign, his pursuit of excellence, and his focus onsuccessfully achieving objectives.

TThhee MMoorrttyy TTaarrddeerr AAwwaarrdd was given to the SSaagguueennaayy--LLaacc--SSaaiinntt--JJeeaann CChhaapptteerr forwhat was an outstanding 2010, during which the spot-light shone on volunteers whose dedication and com-mitment are examples to us all.

TThhee CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonnss AAwwaarrdd was given to BBrruunnoo SSaavvaarrdd for promoting the work ofthe Quebec Branch among the general public, and forhis availability, commitment and involvement as KidneyWalk spokesperson since the event was first launched.

TThhee FFiinnaanncciiaall DDeevveellooppmmeenntt AAwwaarrdd went to MMaarrttiinn PPoouulliinn for his outstanding contribution tothe success of Quebec City’s Kidney Walk. This long-timevolunteer, who has always been very available and greatlycommitted, personally solicited Beauce-area companiesfor both the Fall Campaign and the Kidney Walk.

TThhee MMiicchheell PPeerrrroonn AAwwaarrdd was given to CCoorruuss QQuuéébbeecc for its invaluable support as adedicated partner of the Laval Police Spaghetti Day.

JJeeaann--JJaaccqquueess BBééggiinn AAwwaarrdd went to the nneepphhrroollooggiissttss aatt tthhee SShheerrbbrrooookkee UUnniivveerr--ssiittyy HHoossppiittaall CCeennttrree (doctors Jean-François Bilodeau,Anne-Marie Côté, Ève-Reine Gagné, Nathalie Langlois,Mélanie Masse, Paul Montanbault, Tewfik Nawar, Mar-tin Plaisance, Gérard E. Plante and Jean-Luc Wolff) inrecognition of their inestimable support and involve-ment, which in concrete terms meant giving lectureson kidney research and transplantation, staffing a standused to educate the public about kidney disease andpromote organ and tissue donation, and helping todevelop activities to raise funds for research and publicawareness campaigns through the Eastern TownshipsChapter.

From left to right: Alain Ouimet, outgoing President of The Kidney Foundation of Canada – Quebec Branch; Miguel Trottier, Administrator of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Chapter; Luc Trottier,Communications Coordinator for the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Chapter.

From left to right: Alain Ouimet, outgoing President of The Kidney Foundation of Canada – Quebec Branch; Noëlla Gagné,President of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Chapter; NathalieSaulnier, Coordinator of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Chapter.



Recognition awards given out at the 2011 Annual Conference

TThhee OOrrggaann DDoonnaattiioonn AAwwaarrdd went to DDrr.. YYvveess JJaallbbeerrtt, Director of Biovigilance, and hismanagement team at the province’s health and social ser-vices department, the Ministère de la Santé et des Ser-vices sociaux du Québec (MSSS), in recognition of theiroutstanding involvement in the organ and tissue donationcause, and for their perseverance and leadership in theirquest to give increased hope to Quebecers awaiting a kid-ney transplant. Speaking on behalf of the Foundation indiscussions with the MSSS, they were important allies inthe file dealing with reimbursements for living donors’ ex-penses, not to mention vital partners in securing Quebec’sinvolvement in the Canadian registry for incompatible do-nors, the Living Donor Paired Exchange (LDPE). Thesemeasures resulted in the recent adoption of Bill 125,which facilitates organ and tissue donation.

TThhee CChhaapptteerr VVoolluunntteeeerr AAwwaarrdd went to:NNooëëllllaa GGaaggnnéé of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Chapter;LLiissee LLaappiieerrrree of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Chapter;LLuucciiee PPeelllleettiieerr of the Eastern Townships Chapter;HHééllèènnee HHaalllléé of the Outaouais-Québécois Chapter;DDeenniiss VViilllleenneeuuvvee of the Quebec City Chapter (André Mainguy

Award);JJeeaann--FFrraannççooiiss RRoouusssseellllee of the Montreal-MetropolitanChapter (Marcel Dufresne Award) below on the photo.

The 2011-2012 Kidney Foundation ofCanada – Quebec Branch ExecutiveCommitteeCaption (left to right):

Sylvain Thibault, Vice-President of Volunteer Resources;

Nora Kelly, Secretary-Treasurer;

Simon Brodeur, Vice-President of Programs;

Alain Ouimet, outgoing President;

Christopher Gobeil, President;

From left to right: Martin Munger, Executive Director of The Kidney Foundation of Canada – Quebec Branch; Dr. Yves Jalbert, Director of Biovigilance, Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec; Martin Gauthier of the BiovigilanceDepartment, Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec.

From left to right: Jean Rousselle, founder of the Laval Police Spaghetti Day; Linda Pellas, Development Director, The KidneyFoundation of Canada – Quebec Branch; Alexandre Raymond,Vice-President of Development, Montreal-Metropolitan Chapter;Lyse-Ann Bélanger, President, Montreal-Metropolitan Chapter;Jean-François Rousselle, organizer of the Laval Police SpaghettiDay and recipient of the Award.

TThhee 22001111 ““GGiifftt ooff LLiiffee””HHuummaanniittaarriiaann AAwwaarrdd went to BBFFII UUssiinnee ddee ttrriiaaggee LLaacchheennaaiiee LLttééee (details on page 8)



The Outaouais-Québécois Chapter’s golftournament took place on June 10, 2011, atthe Montpellier Golf Club. This 17th editionwas presided over by honorary presidentJocelyn Filiatrault of Investors Group. Theevent was attended by 129 golfers and rai-sed $18,000. The Outaouais-QuébécoisChapter of The Kidney Foundation of Canadawould like to thank all its sponsors—InvestorsGroup, Brookfield Renewable Power, LéoPharma Inc. and Le Droit—as well as all theparticipants who helped the Foundationachieve these results.

The Cunningham's first golf tournament benefiting KFoC took placein Hudson on June 10, 2011. On this occasion, 144 golfers took tothe course at Fal-con Golf Club andraised $13,500 tohelp fund research,patient programs,prevention initia-tives and organ do-nation awarenessprograms. The daya lso served tohighlight the firstanniversary of aliving kidney dona-tion between twinsisters Erika andKristen Wilkin ofHudson.

The story began in 2004 when Kristen was diagnosed with Henoch-Schönlein purpura, an inflammatory disease that affects the body’ssmallest blood vessels. By affecting capillaries, Henoch-Schönlein be-comes a systemic illness that can affect the kidneys. And in 2009,that is exactly what happened: things took a turn for the worse andKristen lost the use of her kidneys. She immediately started under-going dialysis six times a week, a frequency that was eventually re-duced to only three times a week. Specialized genetic testing waslater conducted at the Royal Victoria Hospital to check whether thetwins were compatible, a key requirement for kidney transplants. Asa result of the positive results, the transplant finally went ahead onJune 10, 2010.

Erika is thankful that she could donate a kidney: “I wish more peoplewould inform themselves about living donation; if I had the opportunityto donate again; I would – there is no greater gift to give. Not only wasI able to save the life of my twin sister but I was able to start practicinga healthier lifestyle for myself. It is such an unbelievable feeling after-wards; I realized I was stronger than I thought and feel proud of myselfeveryday for what I did. I saved a life; my sister's life; who without, Iwould not be the person I am today.”

News from the Chapters

OUTAOUAIS Outaouais Golf Tournament

MONTREAL-METROPOLITANCunningham's Golf Tournament

From left to right: Monique Jacques, Michel Audette, Joane Roy (Golf Committee members),Karine St-Pierre, Past Coordinator at The KidneyFoundation of Canada – Outaouais-QuébécoisChapter, Louise Duchesne, Golf Committee President, Claude Pigeon, Administrator at TheKidney Foundation of Canada – Quebec Branch,Joëlle Turck, Director of Volunteer Resources atThe Kidney Foundation of Canada – QuebecBranch, Jocelyn Filiatrault of Investors Group, Honorary President, Yvanne Pierre-Louis, Outaouais-Québécois Chapter committee member,Nicole Therriault and Alain Thibaudeau, Golf Committee members.

From left to right: Back: Grahame Dorcas, Brian Penny,Don McDougall, Brett Anderson, Paul Alexander, AndrewDumas. Front: Kristen and Erika Wilkin.

We're behind you all the way

The traditional Spaghetti Day organized by the LavalPolice was held September 11, 2011, at the SheratonLaval where over 5,000 meals were served. Thisannual fundraising event benefits The Kidney Foun-dation of Canada Summer Camp for Dialysis andTransplant Children.

Indeed, thanks to the immense popularity of this26th Spaghetti Day, some fifty transplant and dialy-sis children got to enjoy a week-long change of sce-nery at a summer camp supervised by a specializedmedical team. On behalf of the Organizing Com-mittee and all the children living with kidney di-sease, The Kidney Foundation of Canada wishes tothank the Laval Police for their invaluable participa-tion and renewed support.

Would you like to help the Foundation by holding your own fundraising activity?

Find out how by calling Development Director Linda Pellas at 514-938-4515, ext. 227.

News from the Chapters


In the blazing sun, a hundred or so people from Concordia enjoyed a mouth-watering lunchtime barbecue.

Mr. Gilles Vaillancourt, Mayor of Laval and honorary president of theevent (2nd from the right) came to lend a helping hand to serve meals.

Laval Police Spaghetti Day

Concordia University’s Department ofChemistry and Biochemistry held a bar-becue on July 12 to benefit the Founda-tion. The event raised over $1,000 thatwill go toward funding research andhelping those suffering from kidney fai-lure. The Foundation would like tothank Miriam Posner from the depart-ment of Chemistry and Biochemistry ofConcordia University for her wonderfulinitiative.

A Barbecue at Concordia University

YOUR HEALTH • Fall 2011 1

NOCTURNAL HOME HEMODIALYSISQuestions and answers about Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis

What is dialysis?

Dialysis is a treatment for people in the later stageof chronic kidney disease (kidney failure). Thistreatment cleans the blood and removes wastesand excess water from the body. Normally, thiswork is done by healthy kidneys.

Sometimes dialysis is a temporary treatment.However, when the loss of kidney function ispermanent (as in end-stage kidney failure), youmust continue to have dialysis on a regular basis.The only other treatment for kidney failure is akidney transplant.

There are two types of dialysis: hemodialysis andperitoneal dialysis. In hemodialysis, your blood ispassed through an artificial kidney machine to

clean it. Peritoneal dialysis uses a filtration processsimilar to hemodialysis, but the blood is cleanedinside your body rather than in a machine.

What is hemodialysis?

Hemodialysis means "cleaning the blood" - andthat is exactly what this treatment does. Bloodis circulated through a machine which contains adialyzer (also called an artificial kidney). Thedialyzer has two spaces separated by a thinmembrane. Blood passes on one side of themembrane and dialysis fluid passes on the other.The wastes and excess water pass from theblood through the membrane into the dialysisfluid, which is then discarded. The cleaned bloodis returned to your bloodstream.

What is Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis(NHHD)?

Some dialysis centres in Quebec are able to offerNocturnal Home Hemodialysis. With this method,

YourHealth

Volume 23 • No. 2 • Fall 2011 The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Quebec Branch

The publication of this special feature was made possible thanks to the financial support of

2 YOUR HEALTH • Fall 2011

you carry out dialysis four to six nights, for six toeight hours while you sleep. NHHD greatlyimproves the removal of waste products form thebody. It has also been found to improve well-being, allow you a more liberal diet and reducethe need for medications. The dialysis machinecan be monitored by trained hospital staff bytelephone modem or Internet. The machine willoccasionally alert patients should there be anyproblem (most problems are minor and usuallyrequire pressing a “reset” button). However, ifthe patient does not respond within a reasonableperiod, the hospital monitor will contact them byphone.

Why choose Nocturnal HomeHemodialysis?

Because it is long and frequent, Nocturnal HomeHemodialysis can offer a very high dose ofdialysis. When it comes to toxins like urea,NHHD can offer results as effective as normalkidneys. Generally, all symptoms associated withkidney failure improve or disappear. Patientsreport feeling more energetic, having increasedstamina, improved appetites and less episodesof nausea. There are fewer complaints or othersymptoms like itchy or dry skin or “restless legsyndrome”.

Many patients have also found their need formedications to combat such things as high bloodpressure has diminished or ended altogether.Other patients diagnosed with sleeping disorders(i.e. sleep apnea) no longer reported thoseproblems.

What are some of the other benefits?

Probably one of the most welcome changes is thelifting of almost all dietary restrictions. Removal ofphosphate has been so much better that many

patients stop taking calcium pills and are, in fact,encouraged to eat more phosphate in their food.Restrictions on dairy products, nuts and colas arelifted. Since dialysis is done nightly, there is nolimit to the amount of water patients can drink oreven the amount of salt they eat. In addition, theamount of EPO necessary decreases in mostpatients and some come off the blood-producingdrug altogether

Do I need a special kind of dialysismachine for NHHD?

No. All dialysis machines can be used, but can bemodified for remote monitoring via modem orInternet connection.

What about dialysis vascular access?Do I have to use a central venouscatheter?

No, any dialysis access is good for NHHD. Almostall patients have been equipped with fistulas andless often with grafts. Catheters are still used andin many patients can be long-term accesses.

What about problems sleeping whileconnected to a machine?

Despite some noise from the dialysis machine andwater system, most patients had no troublesleeping after the first few nights. As mentionedearlier, sleep studies show patients with sleepapnea (disturbed sleeping with snoring) actuallyimproved. Spouses also reported getting used tothe system’s background sound.

Will Nocturnal Home Hemodialysis helpme get back to work?

Many HHHD patients have returned to work fulltime. Not only did they feel better, but had more

Your Health

free time for family and other activities since theydialyzed during the night.

How long does the training last?

Training usually last six weeks. Patients (andsometimes their spouses) report to the trainingunit five days a week for five or six hours daily.The last week of training includes sleeping at thehospital overnight to put your learning to thetest.

How often do I have to go to thehospital after training?

Once the home procedure is running smoothly,patients are required to attend an outpatientclinic every two months. Blood tests areusually contributed monthly and nurses andtechnicians are always available for telephoneconsultation.

Are diabetics candidates for nocturnaldialysis?

It is estimated that about 40 percent of all dialysispatients could be candidates for NHHD, includingdiabetics. In fact, diabetics patients can benefiteven more from nocturnal dialysis.

Can patients with heart disease go onnocturnal dialysis?

Yes. In fact, the more severe the disease, the morethe patient benefits from nocturnal hemodialysis.

YOUR HEALTH • Fall 2011 3

Your Health

4 YOUR HEALTH • Fall 2011

BENEFITS

• Decreased medications;

• Done at home;

• During non-productive sleep time;

• Improved energy;

• Improved sleep;

• Cardiovascular benefits;

• Improved appetite;

• Dairy Intake;

• Gives patient control;

• No fluid restrictions;

• Home hemodialysis is less expensive thanhemodialysis in the hospital.

Special thanks to Francine Malenfant, nocturnal dialysis nurseat The Montreal General Hospital for her preciouscollaboration.

Sources: "Living with kidney disease", 3rd edition, publishedby The Kidney Foundation of Canada, 2000.

FAQs prepared by the staff of the Nocturnal HomeHemodialysis (NHHD) program in Toronto.

Your Health

The foundation of kidney care


Scholarships

The Summer Camp for Dia-lysis and Transplant Chil-dren run by The KidneyFoundation of Canada –Quebec Branch took placefrom August 6 to 12, 2011.This year, over fifty childrentook part. Thanks to a teamof medical volunteers fromthe Sainte-Justine Hospitaland the Montreal Children’s

Hospital, children got to enjoy a week of holidays while continuing theirtreatments.

The camp was made possiblethanks to a contribution ofthe Laval Police through theannual Spaghetti Day.

We would also like tothank TELUS for sponso-ring the art therapy works-hop, which kicked off thecamp and was one of thekids’ favourites.

The Kidney Foundation ofCanada’s scholarship pro-gram was created to pro-vide financial support topeople on dialysis and kid-ney transplant recipientspursuing college and uni-versity studies. The appli-cation deadline for thewinter session is January30, 2012.

“Dream Trip” to Disney World in Florida for dialysis and transplant children from QuebecAgain this year, The Kidney Foundation of Ca-nada – Quebec Branch was chosen to takepart in the “Dream Trip” activity. Four chil-dren, two from the Sainte-Justine HospitalCentre and two from the Montreal Children’sHospital, will take part in this activity at WaltDisney World in Florida. The trip will takeplace in November 2011. It is important topoint out that the activity is organized by vo-lunteers from Air Canada.

Patient Services To receive documentation and informationabout the programs offered by the QuebecBranch of The Kidney Foundation of Canada,refer to the “Patient Programs and Support”and “Organ Donation” sections of our Web site at wwwwww..kkiiddnneeyy..ccaa//qquueebbeecc, or contact:

Hélène Boisvert, Programs DirectorThe Kidney Foundation of Canada – Quebec Branch2300 René-Lévesque Blvd WestMontreal, Quebec H3H 2R5Tel.: 514-938-4515, ext. 224, or 1-800-565-4515E-mail: [email protected]

Summer Camp for Quebec’s Dialysis and Transplant Children



The Kidney Foundation of Canada– Quebec Branch is pleased toconfer the 2011 “Gift of Life”Humanitarian Award on BBFFIIUUssiinnee ddee TTrriiaaggee LLaacchheennaaiiee LLttééee.

This award is the Foundation’sway of recognizing the com-pany’s humanitarian efforts, whichgreatly helped Pierre L’Heureux

donate a kidney to his daughterAryelle.

More than a mere distinction,the award seeks to raise aware-ness among Quebec businessesabout the importance of sup-porting their employees duringthe kidney donation or trans-plant process.

The Foundation would like to congratulatethe other businesses that vied for the 2011“Gift of Life” Humanitarian Award:Commission scolaire de Laval (École Polymécanique de Laval); Conway Jacques courtiers d’assurances inc.; Desjardins Financial Security; Grossesse-Secours; Transcontinental Media; Xstrata Copper, Horne foundry.

The Canadian Organ Donors AssociationTThhee CCaannaaddiiaann OOrrggaann DDoonnoorrss AAssssoocciiaattiioonn ((CCOODDAA)) GGaallaawill be held in Sherbrooke on Friday, October 21, inconjunction with The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Theevent will honour the memory of those who donatedtheir organs posthumously. It will also serve as an op-portunity to underscore the altruism of living donors.

From left to right: HHeeccttoorr CChhaammbbeerrllaanndd, BusinessDevelopment Director at BFI Usine de Triage Lachenaie Ltée; PPiieerrrree LL’’HHeeuurreeuuxx, a BFI Usine deTriage Lachenaie Ltée employee, and his daughterAryelle; CCllaauuddee PPrroouullxx, Chairman of The KidneyFoundation of Canada’s Organ Donation PublicAwareness Committee.

Organ Donation

2011 “Gift of Life” Humanitarian Award



Research

Understanding where genes go wrong in kidney disease

Wilms’ tumour is a type of kidney cancer that affects 1 in10,000 children under the age of four. Dr. Sunny Hartwigand her team are trying to understand at a genetic levelhow and why this cancer develops, with the hope of oneday reversing it.

Dr. Sunny Hartwig is an assistant professor in the depart-ment of Biomedical Sciences at the Atlantic VeterinaryCollege in Prince Edward Island. She earned her PhD atSick Children’s Hospital in Toronto and completed herpost-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School and Chil-dren’s Hospital Boston.

Since 2006, Dr. Sunny Hartwig has been funded by TheKidney Foundation of Canada’s KRESCENT Programwhich she describes as “truly transformative’’, particu-larly “the outstanding mentorship from world leaders inthe field who give so much of themselves to help youon your way”.

Inspired by her mentor, Dr. Norman Rosenblum, and thechallenge to ‘imagine every sick kid, healthy’, Sunny isstudying “nephron progenitor ‘stem’ cells that differen-tiate into the 20 plus cell types of the kidney’s nephrons,which filter blood”.

Dr. Hartwig notes that “noone has looked at these[SoxC family of] genes in thekidney before. We’re tryingto understand preciselywhere and when thesegenes appear during kidneydevelopment, and, whattheir function is”.

Dr. Hartwig is convincedthat, “one day we will un-derstand what the keygenes are that control kid-ney development, and whatgoes wrong when they losetheir function during kidneydisease… Once we unders-tand the pathogenesis ofkidney disease at a molecu-lar or genetic level, we’ll beable to treat and reverse thedisease”.

Dr. Sunny Hartwig is the recipient of a Biomedical ResearchGrant from the KFOC and a KRESCENT New Investigator Award.



Bulletin Board

Save the date

CODA Gala,

October 21

Founder’s Award

Campaign Gala,

November 23

Hope for a TransplantOn May 15, 2011, Marie PierRouleau took part in The Kid-ney Foundation of Canada“Kidney Walk” so she couldshare her story and helpraise public awareness aboutorgan donation. At 21, she iscurrently awaiting a new kid-ney after two failed trans-plants.

After an uneventful chil-dhood and adolescence, an18-year-old Marie Pier wasunexpectedly rushed to Mai-sonneuve-Rosemont Hospi-tal for in-depth tests. Andwithin just one year, her kid-neys deteriorated drastically, leading to the fateful diagnosis: shehad terminal renal failure, meaning that her kidneys were functio-ning at less than 10% of capacity and she would require dialysis.When she was 20, she underwent two transplants, but one after ano-ther, they failed because of the size of the kidneys she received.Since July 20, 2011, she has been back on the waiting list for a kid-ney transplant. If and when that third transplant comes, Marie Pierwill receive a smaller kidney from either a woman or a child, whichwould be compatible.In the meantime, she undergoes dialysis treatments three days aweek at the Pierre Legardeur medical centre in Lachenaie.“I want the public to know that when a transplant doesn’t work thefirst time around, the process is long and difficult for those whosebody rejected the transplanted organ,” she said, clearly worriedabout her next transplant operation.Despite the trying times behind and ahead of her, Marie Pier’s joiede vivre shows on her face, and she knows that, one day, the goodnews will come and she’ll finally be able to lead a normal life likeother people her age.*It’s important to remember that almost 1,000 people in Quebec areawaiting a kidney and the average wait time is two years.*Source: Québec-Transplant

Kidney Stories of Hope

Congratulations to Edouard Guer

non,

winner of the “Kidney Stories of

Hope” contest for Quebec.

The Canadian “Kidney Stories of

Hope” campaign invites people who

have experienced kidney disease

to

tell their story.

Each of the five winners, one per

re-

gion — British Columbia, the Prairies,

Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada

— received a $500 prize from The Kid-

ney Foundation of Canada thanks

to an

unrestricted grant from Shire Canada.

To read Edouard Guernon’s touch

ing

story, as well as those from the other

winners, visit our Web site at

wwwwww..kkiiddnneeyy..ccaa..

Hélène Plamondon,

a devoted volunteer,

has passed on

The Kidney Foundation of Canada

would

like to pay tribute to Hélène Plamondon,

who died on August 16, 2011. Des

pite li-

ving with kidney failure since sh

e was

very young, she always had a con

tagious

love of life, not to mention a great se

nse

of humour and an unshakeable determi-

nation to serve the cause of kid

ney di-

sease failure for both herself and

others

affected by the disease. Even whe

n she

was still very young, she was a s

pokes-

person for the Foundation. In he

r final

years, she was, together with her

friend

Josée Parenteau, one of the archite

cts be-

hind the restructure of the Found

ation’s

Eastern Townships Chapter. She

was a

member of that chapter’s board of dire

c-

tors and its treasurer, as well as a m

ember

of the Quebec Branch’s board of

direc-

tors. Hélène’s determination, hope an

d

commitment will continue to inspire both

volunteers and employees as they s

trive

to achieve the Foundation’s mission.

Marie-Pier Rouleau at the MontrealKidney Walk on May 15, 2011, sharingher story with other participants.



Transplant Recipient Raises$2,200 for the FoundationOn August 14, 2011, DenisJolin, who received a kid-ney 25 years ago, alongwith family and friends,organized a hot dog fun-draiser at the Saint-Mar-tin de Beauce fire stationto benefit The KidneyFoundation of Canada.This happy occasion rai-sed $2,200 in donationswhich will be used to im-prove the day-to-day livesof people with kidney di-sease, fund kidney re-search and promote organdonation.“The organization is delighted with the outcome and wishes to thank eve-

ryone who contributed in some way to the event’s success. And we couldnot have raised all this money without the support of the event’s sponsorsand generous donors,” said Denise Jolin, Denis’s twin sister, who also tookpart in the event.

Hundreds of people and a great many volunteers attended the activityand took advantage of a beautiful day to generously donate money andtime to the Foundation.

The surprise visit by Maxime Bernier, Federal Member of Parliamentand Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, thrilled organi-zers, as it helped focus the spotlight on their event. The day’s successconvinced organizers to do it all over again next year.The Kidney Foundation of Canada is proud to see such initiativessprouting up all over the province, as they enable the Foundationto pursue its mission and, above all, to promote organ donation inlight of the fact that almost 1,000 people in Quebec today are awai-ting a kidney.

Hélène Plamondon,

a devoted volunteer,

has passed on

The Kidney Foundation of Canada

would

like to pay tribute to Hélène Plamondon,

who died on August 16, 2011. Des

pite li-

ving with kidney failure since sh

e was

very young, she always had a con

tagious

love of life, not to mention a great se

nse

of humour and an unshakeable determi-

nation to serve the cause of kid

ney di-

sease failure for both herself and

others

affected by the disease. Even whe

n she

was still very young, she was a s

pokes-

person for the Foundation. In he

r final

years, she was, together with her

friend

Josée Parenteau, one of the archite

cts be-

hind the restructure of the Found

ation’s

Eastern Townships Chapter. She

was a

member of that chapter’s board of dire

c-

tors and its treasurer, as well as a m

ember

of the Quebec Branch’s board of

direc-

tors. Hélène’s determination, hope an

d

commitment will continue to inspire both

volunteers and employees as they s

trive

to achieve the Foundation’s mission.

Hélène Plamondon at the annua

l Foundation

Conference in Val d’Or on May 28, 2011

Pictured here with organizer Denis Jolin, MaximeBernier, Member of Parliament for Beauce, is ac-companied by his wife and grandson.

PHOTO

COURT

ESY OF EN

BEAUCE.COM



The mission of The Kidney Foundation of CanadaThe Kidney Foundation of Canada is the national volunteer organization committed to lesseningthe burden of kidney disease through:

• funding and stimulating innovative research;• providing education and support;• promoting access to high quality healthcare; and• increasing public awareness and commitment to advancingkidney health and organ donation.Quebec Branch

2300 René-Lévesque Blvd WestMontreal, Quebec H3H 2R5

Tel.: 514-938-45151-800-565-4515

Fax: [email protected]

Make a donation to The Kidney Foundation of Canada

� Yes, I would like to make a donation to The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Please find enclosed my contribution in the amount of:

� $20 � $35 � $50 � $100 Other

Total donation =

� Cheque made out to The Kidney Foundation of Canada

� Visa � MasterCard Credit card number Expiry date

Signature Date

An income tax receipt will be issued for donations of $20 or more.

� Please send me my copy of the Kidney-Link newsletter by e-mail to:

� Please remove my name from your mailing list.

We may use your contact information for future correspondence, including fundraising opportunities. If you do not wish us to do so, please call us at 1-877-361-4947.

We thank you in advance for your patience. Please allow 30 days for any changes to be made.

Please complete this form, detach it and mail it in the return envelope included with this newsletter. Thank you for affixing your own stamp.

Doing so helps us minimize costs and is considered an additional donation.

www.kidney.ca/quebec

the kidney-link newsletter of the kidney foundation of canada / quebec branch

Documents

kidney diseaseand

kidney dysfunction

kidney walks

kidney transplant

kidney foundation of

kidney foundation of

thisyears kidney walk

outcomes of kidney patients