Lourd Vijay, a professional dancer and Guinness World Record holder, who underwent a kidney transplant operation last year, is all set to drive his social responsibility initiative called 'Spreading Hope', a not for profit foundation, on a mission to raise nation-wide awareness on kidney disease and the importance of organ donation.

Mr Vijay was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2013 and underwent a transplant in 2016 at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru.Through Spreading Hope, he aims to drive from Chennai to Ladakh, covering distance of 9,000 km, to spread awareness about the seriousness of kidney disease and inspire ten million people to pledge their organs and save lives.The purpose is to engage with the government, corporates, educational and health care institutions to support the cause.Spreading Hope has collaborated with experts from different fields who are helping accomplish this mission.DaVita, a Fortune 200 dialysis provider, is the principal contributor to the cause.The aim of the drive is to spread awareness on kidney disease through classroom-type sessions, conduct no-cost kidney screenings and raise awareness on organ donation.

Mr Vijay said, "Battling the illness for more than three years and going through an organ transplant was a traumatic experience for me both personally and professionally.This chronic kidney disease has changed the way I look at life.It has given me a new purpose and that's how I started the mission ‘Spreading Hope’.This mission is a mammoth task of raising awareness on kidney disease and organ donation.The first activity of this mission is to drive from Chennai to Ladakh, spreading the cause.Awareness of kidney disease risks in India is very low and people are very resistant to the concept of organ donation.
My mission is to help interested people convince their families and willingly register as donors." Aditya Singh, managing director, DaVita Care (India) Pvt.
Ltd, said, "Kidney disease affects 1 in 10 Indians, however, the awareness about its seriousness remains low, at only 7 per cent.

Hence, it is important to detect kidney disease risk factors early on, so that adequate treatment can be provided and progression of End Stage Renal Disease can be slowed.The ‘Spreading Hope’ drive is an endeavour towards improving awareness about kidney disease and organ donation in India.
DaVita is thrilled to collaborate with Lourd, who underwent dialysis with DaVita, and is a chronic kidney disease survivor.Through this drive, we hope to spread awareness about kidney disease across India through classroom-type sessions and no-cost kidney screenings."DaVita, one the largest and best recognized dialysis services provider in the USA, has set up operations in India and has 27 centres across 11 cities providing quality dialysis.

We are committed to improving kidney disease awareness and diagnosis," he added.Rehan A Khan, president, DaVita Kidney Care, Asia-Pacific, China and India, said, "End Stage Renal Disease is a significant burden in Asia.Close to 3 million people suffer from the disease in Asia, but only about 30 per cent people get treated, mainly due to lack of awareness and affordability.DaVita Asia Pacific, as part of its commitment to ‘giving life’ serves 4,000 End Stage Renal Disease patients across India, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore.We are delighted to collaborate with the ‘Spreading Hope’ drive in India for raising awareness on kidney disease.