The Donal O’Donoghue Renal Research Centre (DRRC) honours the legacy of our late colleague Professor Donal O’Donoghue OBE and continues his work to improve diagnosis, care and treatment for kidney patients.

Professor O’Donoghue, the first National Clinical Director for Kidney Care, former President of the UK Renal Association and Registrar of the Royal College of Physicians, died in January 2021. He worked at Salford Royal, part of Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, for nearly 30 years, raising awareness of how common kidney disease is and making sure patients’ voices were always heard. His work to modernise kidney care and his support for world-leading research made a huge difference to the lives of countless people and is the inspiration behind the DRRC.

Themes

The DRRC is directed by Prof O’Donoghue’s long-standing colleague and friend, Professor Phil Kalra and currently has 15 research themes, including service redesign in multiple long-term conditions, chronic kidney disease, renovascular disease, glomerulonephritis, dialysis, transplantation and more. It works collaboratively with local universities and other research organisations and aims to bring more colleagues into the world of research (including non-medical colleagues, such as nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals).

Its resources include the Salford Kidney Study with almost 4,000 patients who have consented to provide data and bio-samples over the last 20 years.

The DRRC focuses on patient-directed research themes and better translation of research into clinical practice for patient benefit.

 

Photography by Shireen Hamrang-Yousefi. Instagram: @ShireensShots