"Know Your Kidneys!" Roche Supports Launch of World Kidney Day Quiz to Test Public's Kidney IQ

Basel (ots/PRNewswire) -

- First Worldwide Test of Public's Knowledge About Kidneys On-line
Quiz Launches Today

Our kidneys are amazing organs that play a crucial role in keeping
us alive and well - but how much do we really know about them and do
we know what can happen if disease sets in? This is the challenge
posed by the first global online kidney IQ quiz just launched which
will run for the next month until World Kidney Day on March 8th.
Sponsored by Roche, the "World Kidney Day (WKD) Quiz" found at
www.worldkidneyday.org encourages members of the public to find out
just how much or how little they know about one of the most important
organs in their bodies.

The WKD Quiz is supported by Roche, working in partnership with
the second annual World Kidney Day which is a joint initiative of the
International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International
Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF). World Kidney Day is a
worldwide initiative to make more people aware of chronic kidney
disease (CKD). CKD is a very common illness which, if detected early,
can be treated so reducing other potentially life threatening health
complications.

"Chronic kidney disease is common and its incidence is increasing
dramatically. We believe it is critical for the public to learn more
about the function and role of their kidneys and we hope this quiz
will be a first step towards greater understanding of, and interest
in, this important organ," said Prof. Philippe Van der Auwera, Global
Head of Anaemia Management at Roche.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a goal of reducing
deaths from chronic disease by 2% per year over the next decade from
a total of 36 million preventable deaths. Promoting early detection
and prevention of kidney disease is an important first step towards
achieving this goal.

The WKD Quiz asks questions that will reveal the public's basic
kidney knowledge as well as awareness of the health consequences if
normal kidney function begins to fail. Results from the 10 short
questions in the quiz will help the organizers to shape ongoing
educational efforts enabling more people in the future to be able to
answer 'Yes' to the provocative World Kidney Day question "Are your
kidneys OK?"

Examples of the questions include:

Q. Your kidneys perform many critical functions. What are they?

a. Process/clean blood and filter out extra water and waste

b. Release hormones

c. Regulate water and chemicals in the blood like sodium and
potassium

d. Remove some drugs and toxins from the blood

e. All of the above

Q. Chronic kidney disease increases the risk of heart attacks and
strokes - true or false?

Answers to these, and all of the questions asked in the WKD Quiz,
can be found at www.worldkidneyday.org. Click on the button "Are Your
Kidneys OK?" The site also contains information on events going on in
countries around the world.

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's
leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the leading supplier of
medicines for cancer and transplantation, a market leader in virology
and in anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease and cancer.
More information can be found at www.roche.com.

About WKD organisers

The partnership between the International Society of Nephrology
(ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) -
the co-organizers of World Kidney Day - represents a strong alliance
between kidney health professionals and patient groups to bring
global attention to the prevention and treatment of kidney disease.
The ISN is a not-for-profit society whose mission is the global
advancement of nephrology. The IFKF, a not-for-profit Federation
advocates worldwide to improve the health, well-being and quality of
life of individuals with kidney disease; disseminates standards of
best practice of treatment and care; assists with the establishment
of kidney foundations in countries where they do not yet exist;
facilitates educational programs for it members; and promotes kidney
disease research.

ots Originaltext: Roche Pharmaceuticals
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further information: Sheila Gies, Roche, Tel: +973-235-4347,
Mobile: +973-687-0188. Rosemary Hennings, Galliard Healthcare, Tel:
+44-(0)207-663-2253, Mobile: +44-(0)7799-411325