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Patient presentation 2

Please note, this page is a summary of the full conference speech (click here for the full transcript).

NKF Young Persons Group Progress

Jim Warham

A year after the launch of the NKF Young Persons Group, it now has almost 100 members covering a large area of the UK.

"A major achievement", said Jim. The majority of members were in the 18- 40 age range, with more female than male. "We all have our own individual reasons for getting involved in the Young Persons Group, but the main reason was we all felt the need to be in contact with other young people in a similar situation to ourselves", said Jim.

The YPG would be a contact point for all young renal patients, a place where they could obtain support and share information and experiences and so reduce the sense of isolation that many young patients could feel.

Achievements so far:

• Kidneytastic (YPG News): A quarterly newsletter with its first issue in December 2002. The feedback was all positive and very encouraging, and the fourth issue was in production, with members contributing articles, cartoons, recipes, etc.

• Penpal scheme, with 41 members, was also very popular, proving there was a real need for younger renal patients to be in contact with each other. The YPG area within the NKF Talkline was also going well, with many people exchanging advice and information. Go to www.kidney.org.uk/talkline/ to see them.

"From the moment the YPG started we ve had lots of positive feedback from our members and also from individual KPAs" said Jim. "We would like to thank everyone who has supported us so far".

Please note, this page is a summary of the full conference speech (click here for the full transcript).

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