ERA-EDTA HISTORY

HISTORY OF THE FOUNDING OF EDTA

The idea to form a European Association for dialysis was conceived during an international symposium on acute renal failure organised by Stanley Shaldon at the Royal Free Hospital on 2nd September 1963 (Figure 1).

After the symposium David Kerr suggested to Stanley that there should be an annual symposium on dialysis, drawing together nephrologists in Europe. Stanley said that William Drukker, whom he had met the previous year at a meeting of the West European Clinical Chemistry Society, had made a similar suggestion. Stanley arranged for the three to meet after the closing dinner in the Apothecaries’ Hall. They agreed to test the enthusiasm for the idea among nephrologists in Western Europe by inviting them to join in creating a society to run these annual events. They suggested the title “West European Dialysis Association” (WEDA).

A council was elected (Figure 2) and William Drukker appointed the first Secretary-Treasurer and David Kerr the first Editor of the Proceedings. For the first 9 years of EDTA, papers were presented and published in French as well as English so Daniel Fries and Jules Traeger became French co-editors.

The first congress (Proceedings) was a great success with guest lectures from Willem Kolff, returning for the first time to his homeland where he pioneered haemodialysis, and from Sergio Giovannetti on dietary control of uraemia and 52 presentations from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, USA and UK. On its twentieth anniversary, EDTA recognised the need to widen its remit to include all of nephrology and changed its name to EDTA-ERA.