On the 14th January 2010  at 8 pm, the Malaysian Society of Nephrology’s  book “Nephrology in Malaysia – Celebrating 50 years of Progress” was officially launched by Y.B. Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai, the Minister of Health for Malaysia.  The event was at the Le Meridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur and attended by 230 people.

The launch of the book was part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of MSN. The Society was inaugurated in 1984.

The specialty of Nephrology in the country has grown tremendously over the last 20 years and there are now specialists in this field in all states in the country except for Perlis. The service provided by the Nephrologists has now reached even the most remote hospital in the country. The Society and its members feel justifiably proud of these developments and decided to publish this book to document the progress and achievements made.

The book traces the beginnings of nephrology activity in the country when the late Dr Sreenivasan (subsequently Dato Dr Sreenivasan) started the first Hemodialysis treatment in the country in 1964. It pays tribute to the pioneering doctors and allied health staff without whose commitment, dedication and pioneering spirit the specialty would not have started. Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman (now Tan Sri Dato Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman) was specially mentioned as the father of nephrology. In the 1970s, he organized and developed a nation-wide program that became the foundation of present-day nephrology practice in the country.

The book documents the growth of the Hemodialysis program from a single centre in HKL and one other in Assunta Hospital to nearly 500 now all over the country. A major turning point was when BAKTI gave $600,000 to the Ministry of Health which enabled Dr Abu Bakar to open six dialysis centres in six state hospitals across the country including in Sabah and Sarawak. The MOH played a major role in these early developments and set the standards of care and practice guidelines for all to use. It was later joined by the NGOs and the private sector in providing access to care.

The book acknowledges the contributions of the allied health staff in the development of the specialty. There are chapters on the role of the Universities, the private sector and the industry. The book discusses the training programs and the networking with the various centres overseas.

An interesting chapter is the development of the specialty in the states. The challenges faced by the hospitals when they set up units are documented. There is now no hospital in the MOH that is without a HD centre, and even patients from the interior of Sarawak and Sabah need not travel far to get treatment.

The Society hopes that apart from giving a glimpse into the past developments, the book will encourage younger nephrologists who will take the baton from current leaders to achieve greater heights. The spirit of collaboration amongst all players enabled the discipline to grow and be successful, and that was evident throughout the book.