Around 130 renal patients waiting for a kidney transplant are being monitored on the sophisticated Traccia software solution at Mater Dei Hospital’s Renal Unit. Since the introduction of Traccia in 2017, 32 patients received a kidney transplant after their blood composition was compatible with the donated organ. Ten of the kidney donations were received from living donors while 22 were from deceased donors.

LifeCycle (Malta) Foundation is renewing its sponsorship agreement with the Ministry for Health for the third consecutive year. LifeCycle Founder Alan Curry presented the Foundation’s yearly donation of €10,000 to the Head of the Renal Unit Professor Emanuel Farrugia in the presence of Charge Head Nurse Paul Calleja, LifeCycle Chairperson Dr Shirley Cefai, Co-ordinator Julian Cefai, and nursing staff. The money covers the running costs of mantaining the Traccia data base programme.

Traccia is the data base programme which keeps all the information regarding the kidney recipient waiting list. It keeps data and give points accordingly to waiting time, age matching, human tissue typing (HLA) matching, clinical findings, hypersensitisation, lack of access, etc. Traccia facilitates the procedure of finding the right match for renal patient compatible with a kidney donor with better chances of success and longer graft survival, for the satisfaction of the donor and the recipient’s fulfilment of life.

“As LifeCycle Foundation, we were further encouraged in our efforts when we learnt that through the new Traccia programme, there is an average of 15 successful kidney transplants performed every year,” said Alan Curry who 21 years ago founded LifeCycle Challenge.

Every year, LifeCycle organises a tough cycling challenge, each time in different countries to generate the necessary funding for LifeCycle Foundation’s mission, that is to raise money for life saving equipment to help persons suffering from renal failure and to raise awareness about Organ Transplants here in Malta.

This year’s Nescafé 3in1 LifeCycle Challenge will take the participants on a route of 2,000 km from Vietnam, through Laos, and Cambodia ending at the Temples of Angkor Wat, a UNESCO Heritage site.

On thanking LifeCycle Foundation for their efforts and support, Prof Farrugia said: “Our Renal Unit provides facilities for treating patients with kidney failure who require haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, apart from co-ordinating kidney transplant services. Thanks to the yearly contribution from LifeCycle, the Traccia software programme has been of great support to patients at the Renal Unit.”

“Renal patients have to undergo four hours on dialysis, three times a week, attached to a blood cleaning machine. This is a very aggressive treatment which leaves the patient quite debilitated. Through Traccia, apart from facilitating the process, it will also allocate organs to those patients which match most and not only rely on the waiting time on the list. Every kidney donation is now being run by this new system and this is saving us precious time,” explained Charge Nurse Paul Calleja.

Funds are collected from both companies and individuals. Nescafé 3in1 is the title sponsor of LifeCycle Challenge 2019. The Challenge is also being supported by DataCore, Laferla Insurance, Nexia BT, OzoGroup, Smart Technologies, MGI Malta, Strek, Logografix, Top Choice, MA & A, DSL, BridgePoint, Malta Properties, RS2, Gamesys employees and VJ Salomone (Consumer Lines) Ltd.

Donations for Nescafé 3in1 LifeCycle Challenge 2019 can be sent via sms: 5061 7370 = €2.33; 5061 8920 = €6.99; 5061 9229 = €11.65; or via a call to 5160 2020 = €10, 5170 2005 = €15; and 5180 2006 = €25. Bank details are Swift code VALLMTMT, IBAN number MT 18 VALL 22013000000014814521017, Bank name Bank of Valletta, Account number 14814521017.

For further updates and to donate towards LifeCycle Challenge 2019 on www.lifecyclefoundation.com or on Fb: https://www.facebook.com/LifeCycleChallenge/