Life Cycle Organisation – the Renal Unit charity specialists – are gearing up for this year’s cycling marathon which will take them through the Arctic Circle.

Yesterday, the organisation donated a MOTOmed letto – a motorised movement therapy system that can be used while the patient is on dialysis.

The Renal Unit is one of the busiest units at St Luke’s Hospital, with over 180 patients using its services. These patients come from different walks of life and vary in age, from five years to over 70 years, yet they have one thing in common – renal failure. Without dialysis, these patients would die. About 100 patients go to the unit three times a week for their treatment and spend four hours attached to a dialysis machine that purifies their blood from wastes and toxins normally cleared by the kidneys.

New techniques are continuously being introduced to keep up to date with the latest technology in dialysis.

To date, donations by the Life Cycle Organisation included kidney machines, an ultrasound machine (for all types of ultrasound examinations – used extensively post renal transplant), a portable access ultrasound machine (used at the Renal Unit to access veins for insertion of catheters or fistula needles in order to connect patients onto the Haemodialysis machines) and 14 APD machines (these machines permit patients to perform peritoneal dialysis during the night at home – thus giving patients free time during the day to go to work etc. and children to go to school).

Presently, the Life Cycle Organisation is preparing for this year’s main fundraising event – the Travelex Life Cycle Challenge. This year’s challenge, termed “Over and Above – Crossing the Arctic Circle”, is extremely ambitious, covering over 2,000km in 10 days, starting from Oslo in Norway up to Rovaniemi in Finland, passing via Kiruna in Sweden.