The South West Thames Kidney Fund is a national renal research charity in South East England, based next to the South West Thames Renal & Transplantation Unit, St Helier Hospital, Surrey. 

 

The Kidney Fund was set up and is run by kidney patients, their families and friends throughout the country and our work has both national and international significance.

 

The purpose of the Fund is the support of research into the improved diagnosis, alleviation, and cure of end stage renal disease and its link with diabetes.  To this end it built and now supports the work at the South West Thames Institute for Renal Research (SWTIRR), the only dedicated renal research institute in Britain.

 

Having SWTIRR at St Helier Hospital means we can attract better staff to the Renal Unit; patients can learn more about their condition; and we can all play our part in conquering the problem of renal failure.

 

The Kidney Fund’s running costs are very low.  All its efforts are put into raising money to finance research and, as a volunteer led group, we can proudly claim that nearly every penny we raise goes to progress research in our dedicated Research Institute.

 

The Kidney Fund finances equipment, research projects and some core funding. It has formed a Company Limited by Guarantee to run the Institute and its Trustees are the Directors. It has a Quinquennial Review Panel to examine the results of the Institute, its management and projected research, and has established Helier Scientific Ltd as its trading arm. It also has a Peer Review Panel to advise on individual projects.

 

The Kidney Fund is a member of the AMRC (Association of Medical Research Charities). In 2005 it awarded its 4th Research Fellowship.