Rector Lukas suffers chronic kidney failure and modern medical technology allows him to receive dialysis treatments daily (renal replacement therapy) at home. Like hundreds of other Austrians, the Rector is on a waiting list hoping to receive a donor organ. In this regard, he feels it is important to comment on World Kidney Day today.

Information and Early Detection is Vital
The JKU Rector emphasized, "When your own kidneys fail, you become painfully aware of how important this organ is to the body so it is for good reason that we focus today on just how important the human kidney is. Our healthcare system must make every effort to reduce the frequency and effects of chronic kidney disease. This includes education about the disease as to how you can protect yourself as well as how to reduce the effects of disease. At the same time, early detection plays a key role."

At the same time, Rector Lukas highlighted Austria’s exemplary transplantation law: "This law has been cast as a norm in solidarity of our society." The dissent solution essentially states that an organ can be removed from a deceased person provided he/she did not expressly object to the removal during his or her lifetime.

The JKU Rector would like to take this opportunity on World Kidney Day to encourage those who suffer from kidney disease and kidney failure: "Thanks to Austria’s excellent health care system, renal replacement therapy can provide some quality of life. I certainly do not want to talk down the challenges those affected face. I experience it every day myself. But it's worth sticking with and there is also the hope of receiving a donor organ."