PETALING JAYA, 29 December 2020: A 2018 study revealed Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects 15.48% Malaysian, with around 50,000 patients undergoing dialysis treatment nationwide. With a significant number of patients from the B40 and rural population, access to practical medical information that is understood by layman is crucial for all kidney patients.
Patients battling kidney failure and their caregivers nationwide can look forward to easy access to comprehensive and accurate information, thanks to the launch of MYBuahPinggang.com website. This educational portal will empower kidney patients and their care-givers to improve daily care and quality of life. It features practical content on kidney diseases, treatment, dialysis, transplant and relevant issues such as Covid-19, anaemia as well as other developments which affect patients here Malaysia.
The Medical Tweet Association #MedTweetMY developed the website with the support from the team of Nephrologists from the Ministry of Health and Universiti Putra Malaysia. National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (NKF) and AstraZeneca Malaysia jointly hosted the hybrid launch event at Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel recently, which was officiated by YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Noor Hisham bin Abdullah – Director-General of Health.
Speaking at the official launch, NKF Malaysia Chairman Dato’ Dr Zaki Morad Mohd Zaher described the introduction of the website as “very timely as patients can now stay safe at home and access all the information they need about their kidney health via the website.”
On that note, Dato’ Dr Zaki said, “Congratulations to “Association of MedTweetMy Malaysia” for developing this website with the support from the team of Nephrologists from the Ministry of Health and University Putra Malaysia. They have worked tirelessly on this website and made this project a reality.” In the growing age of misinformation, a credible website is crucial for patients to receive accurate information towards making well-informed decisions.
He added that NKF will continue to support and work with the Malaysian Society of Nephrology and MOH, particularly to provide quality dialysis care to poor patients, jointly promote organ donation campaigns and carry out public education and awareness programmes to promote good care of kidneys.
In his speech, MOH’s Head of Nephrology services Dato’ Dr Ong Loke Meng expressed hope that the website will be a one-stop online information centre that members of the public will find useful to learn more about kidney health.
“We will continue to provide accurate facts and information to facilitate patients and their families in selecting the best possible treatment,” he said.
Also present at the website launch were MedTweetMY Founder and Chairman Dr Khairul Hafidz Alkhair; Malaysian Society of Nephrology President, Prof Dr Abdul Halim Abdul Ghafor and AstraZeneca Malaysia’s Country President, Dr Sanjeev Panchal.
The meaningful event also showcased the soft launch of NKF's CODE: Life book “Masih Ada Yang Sayang”, a publication to promote organ donation and transplant in Malaysia. The book launch comes soon after the CODE: Life Webinar in November centred on the theme "Living Kidney Transplant".
More information on MYBuahPinggang is available at www.MYBuahPinggang.com and www.facebook.com/MYBuahPinggang
Further information on the CODE: Life book “Masih Ada Yang Sayang” or to donate towards NKF’s efforts, please visit www.nkf.org.my or call 03-7954 9048.
