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Kidney Walk this Sunday in Comox Valley

Kidney disease is a chronic disease leading to eventual kidney failure, for which there is currently no cure. There are more than 36,000 Canadians living with kidney failure, either undergoing dialysis treatment or living with a kidney transplant.

Kidney disease is a chronic disease leading to eventual kidney failure, for which there is currently no cure.There are more than 36,000 Canadians living with kidney failure, either undergoing dialysis treatment or living with a kidney transplant.Diabetes is fast approaching epidemic levels in North America. Because diabetes is the most common source of kidney disease, the number of Canadians who will contract kidney disease will grow along with the growth of diabetes — and the current risk level for diabetic patients is already one in three.People with high blood pressure — the second most prevalent cause of kidney disease — form a high-risk group with the same risk levels as diabetes.Many people are needlessly dying due to a gap between the 85 per cent of British Columbians surveyed who are in favour of organ donation and the 17 per cent of British Columbians who are registered on the organ donor registry.In B.C., more than 2,800 kidney patients are on dialysis. The wait time for a kidney organ donation is up to five years.Comox Valley residents can help this Sunday when Courtenay hosts its inaugural Kidney Walk at 11 a.m. at Simms Park. Registration begins at 10 a.m.Sponsors, volunteers and walkers are needed to help reach the goal of raising $30,000 for the Kidney Foundation.There is no registration fee and no minimum pledges required, although participants who collect more than $50 will receive a T-shirt.For more information about the Courtenay Kidney Walk or to register online, visit www.courtenaykidneywalk.ca. Contact walk co-ordinator Carol Wain at 250-871-0667 or courtenaywalk@kidney.bc.ca for information about volunteering or sponsoring or to ask for pledge sheets.— Kidney Foundation of Canada