SENATE MEMORIAL 99

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

William E. Sharer

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING MARCH 14, 2013 "WORLD KIDNEY DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, March 14, 2013 marks the eighth anniversary of world kidney day, an event jointly sponsored by the international society of nephrology and the international federation of kidney foundations; and

     WHEREAS, in 2013, the celebration of this day will be focused on the often overlooked role that kidney dysfunction plays in premature heart disease; and

     WHEREAS, the main functions of kidneys are to filter toxins and wastes out of the blood, maintain body fluid and composition and secrete hormones to assist in red blood cell production; and

     WHEREAS, kidneys play a central role in regulating blood pressure by balancing important electrolytes that help maintain the heart's rhythm; and

     WHEREAS, properly functioning kidneys are essential to life; and

     WHEREAS, chronic kidney disease is becoming more common, with a significant increase in its prevalence in the United States over the last twelve years, resulting in one in ten people suffering from chronic kidney disease; and

     WHEREAS, individuals with kidney disease are three times more likely to suffer from heart disease, heart attack or stroke as a result of a buildup of waste products leading to uncontrolled high blood pressure; and

     WHEREAS, many people suffer a heart attack or stroke before they become aware that they have kidney disease; and

     WHEREAS, healthy lifestyle choices, including not smoking or the cessation of smoking, maintaining blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar at appropriate levels, maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise and drinking plenty of water and fluids, help to reduce the risk of kidney disease; and

     WHEREAS, with early detection and treatment, kidney disease can be slowed down before it progresses to kidney failure or heart disease; and

     WHEREAS, according to an article in the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico's rate of end-stage renal disease is higher than that of other states because Hispanics and Native Americans are genetically at greater risk for diabetes, which combined with high blood pressure is responsible for seventy percent of chronic kidney disease; and

     WHEREAS, the intermountain end-stage renal disease network reports that there were two thousand seven hundred seventy-four active dialysis patients in New Mexico as of December 31, 2011; and

     WHEREAS, four hundred thirty New Mexico dialysis patients died in 2011; and

     WHEREAS, while Native Americans make up nine and four-tenths percent of New Mexico's population, they comprise thirty-one percent of active dialysis patients in New Mexico and twenty-three percent of those New Mexico dialysis patients who died in 2011; and

     WHEREAS, there are two transplant centers in New Mexico, both located in Albuquerque, where, in 2011, seventy-eight renal transplants were performed; and

     WHEREAS, approximately fifteen percent of these transplants were from a living related donor, five percent were from living unrelated donors and nearly eighty percent were from deceased donors; and

     WHEREAS, the department of health currently has no programmatic effort dedicated to the prevention of chronic kidney disease or to promoting public awareness of the dangers of kidney disease and its relationship to heart disease; and

     WHEREAS, recognition and support of world kidney day will help raise awareness among the general public and government health officials about the dangers of kidney disease, especially chronic kidney disease;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that March 14, 2013 be declared "World Kidney Day" in the senate; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health and to New Mexico's Indian nations, tribes and pueblos.

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