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Lao transplant team, including past ISN Fellows Noot Sengthavisouk (far left) and Chanmaly Keomany (far right), observing at Ramathibodi Hospital in Thailand

In 2007, kidney care in Laos was limited to a few dialysis beds, with no capacity for kidney biopsy, peritoneal dialysis, or transplantation. Over the past two decades, the ISN Fellowship Program and other ISN Grants have been instrumental in advancing kidney care services and capacity in the country.

Today, Laos counts seven nephrologists, four of whom trained abroad through the ISN Fellowship Program, supported by long-standing ties with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok through the ISN Sister Renal Centers (SRC) Program and Ramathibodi Hospital through the ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Centers (STC) Program. Sakountala Phamanoxay, one of the four fellows, concludes, “It is clear that without the support of the ISN Fellowship Program for personnel development, neither we nor the Lao community could have achieved such remarkable progress in the quantity and quality of kidney care.”

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Delegates and faculty at the 3^rd Annual Scientific Conference of the Lao Nephrology Society

As a result of this sustained support, Laos now has:

• Expanded dialysis services – from two hemodialysis units in 2009 to 34 today, serving more than 2,300 patients
• New treatment options – the first peritoneal dialysis cases, kidney biopsies, continuous renal replacement therapy, and therapeutic plasma exchange
• Landmark achievements – in 2023, the country performed its first live-donor kidney transplant in collaboration with Ramathibodi Hospital in Thailand, with support from the ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Centers Program
• Sustainable capacity building – a national nephrology fellowship program, training courses, and CME meetings have strengthened education and ensured that nephrology is taught across central and provincial universities
• Professional leadership – establishment of the “Nephro Intervention Team” and the Lao Society of Nephrology (LSN), which is developing practice guidelines to ensure quality hemodialysis care as services rapidly expand

Laos’ second therapeutic plasma exchange was performed on a patient with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

The progress in Laos demonstrates how ISN Grants complement each other: Fellowships develop key leaders, Sister Center partnerships provide long-term mentorship, CME courses share expertise, and Educational Ambassadors deliver tailored training. With these initiatives working together, kidney care in Laos has been transformed from near-zero capacity to a system offering advanced therapies, research, training, and a new generation of nephrology leaders.

Explore inspiring stories from 40 years of the ISN Fellowship Program