Manitoba Centre for Health Policy released a 179-page report today titled Care of Manitobans Living with Chronic Kidney Disease. The report outlines the state of kidney disease in Manitoba and the projected growth of dialysis patient populations.
The report estimates that about 14% of Manitobans have kidney disease with an estimated number of 134,000 people. About one-third of those would be at high-risk of progressing to kidney failure.
While currently about 1,800 people live with kidney failure in the province, the study predicts large increases and estimates “that by 2024, more than 3,000 Manitobans will be receiving treatment for kidney failure, either by dialysis or kidney transplant.”
The report goes on to recommend strategies to curb and manage the dialysis patient population including increasing the use of home dialysis.
Manitoba Renal Program (MRP) nephrologists Dr. Paul Komenda and Dr. Navdeep Tangri were authors on the report, with MRP Medical Director Dr. Mauro Verrelli, being part of the advisory group.
“This report is confirmation of our prior findings that we have growing rates of kidney disease and dialysis use in our province,” says Dr. Mauro Verrelli. “Our program is continuously planning for and implementing infrastructure and programming to meet the growing needs of individuals with kidney disease.”
Apart from implementing dialysis services, MRP takes an active role in outreach initiatives to encourage prevention and early detection of kidney disease.
“There are ways to prevent and slow kidney disease when we diagnose it early, so we encourage individuals who are at risk to see their doctors regularly,” explains Dr. Verrelli. Major risk factors include family history of kidney disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
MRP recently expanded their home hemodialysis program to include more user-friendly and transportable dialysis machines. Additionally, MRP implemented the Peritoneal Dialysis Community Care (PDCC) program in 2014, and plans to expand the program which supports individuals on home peritoneal dialysis who need assistance in performing dialysis treatments.
“Home dialysis is not only a cost-effective way to deliver treatment – it has multiple health benefits for patients, so we strongly encourage the use home dialysis whenever possible,” says Dr. Verrelli.
MRP opened a third dialysis unit within Seven Oaks General Hospital in 2014, and has plans with Misericordia Health Centre to open a unit in early 2017. Manitoba Renal Program, in partnership with regional health authorities, operates 16 local renal health centres throughout the province, and four urban centres in Brandon and Winnipeg.

• Read the Media Release
• Summary of the Report
• The Full Report