Kazakhstan has approved a new standard for nephrology care, establishing a single patient pathway for people with kidney disease — from the polyclinic through to receiving the necessary treatment. The news emerged at the Central Asian Congress of Nephrologists held in Aktau, according to infohub.kz.
The key goals of the new approach are detecting kidney disease at an early stage and improving access to dialysis and transplantation.
Several hundred doctors from Kazakhstan, the United States, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Belarus gathered in Aktau. Experts discussed modern methods of diagnosing and treating kidney diseases.
"We are improving care standards, developing specialized centers and training medical personnel. Today more than 50 future nephrologists are studying in residency, and another 12 specialists are to be trained in the 2026–2027 academic year," Maira Abdrazak, head of the department for inpatient and inpatient-replacement medical care at the Department for the Organization of Medical Care, said in her remarks.
According to available data, the country currently has the Republican Center for Nephrology and the Republican Center for the Coordination of Transplantation and High-Tech Medical Services. More than 14,000 Kazakhstanis are receiving dialysis therapy.
It was not reported how the dialysis and transplantation goals will be tackled specifically. However, it was noted that digitalization is expected to create additional opportunities for doctors. The E-Densaulyq system now being developed will allow medical staff to access a patient's medical history regardless of the region or organization where the patient was treated.
Following the congress, the doctors also proposed drafting a sectoral program for the development of nephrology services, with a focus on early diagnosis, specialist training and improved access to treatment.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that surgeons in Shymkent transplanted a kidney into a patient after many years of dialysis.