Hansard

I thank the many organisations concerned for their briefings, and I thank my colleague for securing the debate and raising the profile of kidney disease.

Members’ business debates allow parliamentarians to bring to public awareness issues that go unnoticed, and kidney disease is one of those. They also educate politicians like me. The disease does not grab the headlines, yet it is my understanding that more people die in Scotland from kidney or kidney-related disease than from cancer. It is a long-term condition that does not usually have visible symptoms until the advanced stage, and it is incurable.

Chronic kidney disease should be a significant public health concern in Scotland. I understand that it affects 600,000 people, according to data contained in a recent petition to the Scottish Parliament. There is a slow-growing understanding of the issue, and there have been calls to improve early diagnosis and treatment. Key challenges include improving access to care, supporting vulnerable patients and preventing progression to end-stage kidney disease.

Without wishing to frighten anyone, I note that people are more at risk if they have high blood pressure, diabetes or a history of the disease in their family. Although there is currently no cure, unfortunately, treatment can slow or halt the disease’s progression. Apart from the physical symptoms, there is a possible need for treatment such as dialysis or a transplant. Here I give notice, in passing, that I am sponsoring an organ donation exhibition in the Parliament later this month because, despite there being an opt-out system, organ transplants are on the decline.

“Chronic Kidney Disease: An Action Plan for Scotland” estimates that

“More than one in ten people in Scotland are estimated to have CKD. Of those, 45% ... are already in the more severe, later stages”.

Is it not therefore time to make tackling the disease a priority? On that data alone, CKD requires to be much higher up the health agenda.

Statistics are one thing but, to bring home the impact of the disease, I shall recount Craig’s story. Craig was diagnosed with immunoglobulin A nephropathy, or IgA nephropathy, a form of chronic kidney disease, in his 20s. He is now 54. He managed his condition without intervention until the summer of 2018, when he started to feel very unwell. Tests revealed that his kidney function had dropped to a critical level, and he was immediately put on to the transplant list. Fortunately, his mother, two sisters, brother and partner all put themselves forward to be a potential donor and, after initial tests, his eldest sister was found to be a perfect match. He was lucky.

In the interim, Craig had to go on dialysis. He opted for peritoneal dialysis, which he could do from home, and which would mean less disruption in his daily life. He had to have surgery to get a tube inserted into his abdomen, which he could then hook up to a peritoneal dialysis machine at the side of his bed at home. From then, for a period of eight months, he hooked himself up every night, and the machine used his peritoneal cavity to cleanse and filter his blood inside his body, performing the function that his kidneys no longer could. The family grew used to the whirring, gurgling and beeping noises that the machine made throughout the night, and they affectionately nicknamed it “George” after an inspirational transplant patient they had met. In a grim situation, a bit of humour helps.

There is not yet a cure, but I hope to sound a positive note. Craig had his kidney transplant from his sister six and a half years ago, and he is still going strong. He will be on immunosuppressants and a cocktail of other drugs for the rest of his life, but that allows him to lead a relatively normal life. He is forever grateful to his sister and to the doctors, the nurses and the surgeon who took care of him throughout the process.

I hope that the debate progresses diagnosis and early treatment. I repeat my thanks to Kenny Gibson, to Craig, for letting me tell his story, and to those attending. I look forward to hearing the Government’s response.