A charity which supports kidney patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) has donated £23,000 to fund a research project.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kidney Patients' Association (KPA) has given the funding to Mr Nick Inston, Consultant Renal Surgeon, who is looking at new ways to access patients’ blood vessels for dialysis treatment. Mr Inston said:

“Kidney disease patients who are on dialysis require access to the blood vessels multiple times a week and this causes the vessels to scar and narrow. This research is looking at ways to improve the success and longevity of vascular access for patients.

“With the generous support of the KPA, the QEHB vascular access research group is leading research in this area. This current project is aimed at using a simple drug to open up the veins after surgery and increase the blood flow to enable more successful outcomes and better dialysis.”

Mr Inston added: “I’d like to thank the KPA supporters for their generosity. It’s a fantastic sum of money which will have a direct positive impact on renal patient care.”