DEPARTMENT OF Nephrology

The independent Department of Nephrology at JIPMER was established in January 2010 with Dr. Sreejith Parameswaran joining as a regular faculty member in Nephrology. Prior to this, the Department of General medicine was offering hemodialysis Services to hospitalised patients with kidney failure since 1976. Dr RP Swaminathan, Professor of Medicine served as officer in charge of the department till 2016. Dr. P. S. Priyamvada joined the Department as faculty on 28 June 2011. Dr S Sabarinath and Dr M Karthikeyan joined as Assistant Professors in March – April 2024.  The department offer the entire spectrum of Nephrology patient care services including Clinical Nephrology, Interventional Nephrology, Critical Care Nephrology, Dialysis services and Living and Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation Services. The department offers structured training for Nephrology Trainees and Dialysis technology students. The department is actively involved in kidney disease research relevant to the region and was the first to report endemic nature of CKD in some districts of Tamil Nadu (Tondaimandalam Nephropathy).

Vision

• The department seeks to be a model for academic nephrology services in India

Mission

• Offer evidence-based, ethical, socially mindful patient care with an emphasis on quality and safety
• Formulate innovations that will serve as a model for training in Nephrology
• Engage in socially accountable original research relevant to regional and national health priorities

Landmarks

• 1 July 2010 - Started a three-year degree program BSc Allied Health Sciences - Dialysis Technology (BSc AHS DT)
• 3 March 2012 - First live related kidney transplant surgery
• 1 August 2012 – Started DM Nephrology course
• 1st January 2013 - Established formal collaboration with the Division of Nephrology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA, under the Sister Renal Center Program (SRC Program) of the International Society of Nephrology
• 5 December 2013 - Started Deceased Donor Kidney procurement and Transplantation Program for the first time in Puducherry
• May 2014 - Started Nephrology Subspecialty Clinics for Glomerular Diseases, Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation Clinic
• 30 November 2016 – Commissioned the 25 station outpatient haemodialysis centre
• 10th – 12 February 2017 – Hosted the 37th Annual Conference of Indian Society of Nephrology Southern Chapter (ISNSCCON 2017)
• April 2017 – Started JIPMER Renal Registry
• August 2017 – Started CRRT services
• March 2021 - Started online Haemodiafiltration and Double filtration plasmapheresis
• October 2023 – Started ABO incompatible kidney transplantation
• January 2024 – Total number of DM Nephrology seats increased from six to eight
• March 2024 – Opened Nephrology ICU and commissioned the Upgraded Dialysis facility with a state-of-the-art automated, dual-stage reverse osmosis water treatment plant with facility for heat disinfection, which provides ‘ultrapure water’ for dialysis treatment

Sister Renal Centre Program under International Society of Nephrology

The Department of Nephrology at JIPMER had an official collaboration with the Division of Nephrology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017, for five years, under the ‘Sister Renal Center Program’ of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN). The collaboration was intended to enhance the quality of patient care services, facilitate clinical research projects of mutual interest, and ensure that the training programs offered by JIPMER were of high standards. Under the collaboration, the ISN facilitated mutual visits for training purposes, funded CME programs, provided educational material and travel grants etc.

Last Updated:01-Nov-2024