' Dr Sunil Prakash did his MBBS in 1982 and MD in Internal Medicine in 1986 from GSVM Medical College, Kanpur. India is the future diabetic capital of the world and every year two lakh new patients of advanced kidney failure are diagnosed. These appalling statistics encouraged him to prepare for DM Nephrology entrance examination. He was selected in the inaugural year batch of DM Nephrology in 1993 from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He was awarded International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis fellowship from Toronto Western Hospital, Canada, in 2000. Subsequently he trained at University of Columbia, Missouri USA to earn International Society of Nephrology fellowship in 2002. In India, he was awarded FIACM, Fellow of Indian Academy of Clinical Medicine, and FISN, Fellow of Indian Society of Nephrology, in 2006.[2]
He joined Northern Railway Central Hospital, New Delhi, in October 1986. There he established the first fully functional Nephrology and Dialysis center. Being the first and only nephrologist on Indian Railways at that time, he was responsible for providing total renal care to lakhs of serving and retired railway men and their beneficiaries for two decades. [3] He pioneered renal transplantation services and singlehandedly provided home dialysis to all kidney failure patients resulting in saving exchequers money by reducing dialysis referrals to outside hospitals. For this he received the General Manager award in 1996. In May 2007, he joined Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon and established state of the art dialysis and transplant centre. First legal kidney transplant in the state of Haryana, sans Chandigarh, was carried out successfully in 2009. He was invited to establish transplant services at Dr. BL Kapur Memorial Hospital, New Delhi in February 2012. There his team performed first medico legal brain dead cadaveric transplant which saved three lives. Today BLK performs most complicated transplants such as ABO incompatible and highly HLA antigenic kidney transplants.
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He has given more than 500 talks, radio programs and TV shows to educate people on preventive aspects of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and kidney diseases.[5][6][7][8][9]
Dr. Sunil Prakash
He has mentored post graduate doctors for DNB Medicine and Nephrology degree over last 25 years. He has published more than 40 research papers in national and international journals. He was the editor of the first textbook for dialysis technicians in 2003 and was editor of DNS Newsletter from 2006 to 2012. He was awarded best paper award in International ESPEN conference at Glasgow USA in 2003 over slowing kidney disease by dietary modification and ketoanalogue supplementation. He presented his innovative surgical technique in inserting CAPD catheter at International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis conference at Amsterdam in 2004. He developed a simplified surgical technique of making life saving fistulas for dialysis patients which was presented in European Renal Association annual congress in Madrid, Spain in 2017. He delivered an Oration address on slowing kidney diseases in annual conference of Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism in Mumbai on September 2018.[10]
Pushpawati Memorial Charitable Trust and Satyaraj National Kidney Care Foundation paper
He is running a charitable trust after his grandmother namely Pushpawati Memorial Charitable Trust at Haridwar since 1992. The trust provides assistance to socially, financially and medically challenged people. Currently it is providing full financial support to children from families living on footpaths and slums at Pankh School in Rishikesh. In 2008, Satyaraj National Kidney Care Foundation was formed which disseminates knowledge about prevention of diseases. It also provides assistance to the patients suffering from kidney failure. It celebrates World Kidney Day in March every year to disseminate knowledge about diabetes, high BP and kidney disease. To stop organ trade, it promotes organ donation before dying. It conducts health camps for diagnosing asymptomatic, non communicable disease burden. His wife, Dr Smita Prakash, is a brilliant academician and senior consultant anesthesiologist at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, and has been by his side in all his endeavors. His single minded professional aim is to reduce the crippling burden of life style diseases by spreading the importance of preventive nephrology and providing ethical cost effective transplant service in India. This will be of immense help in eliminating illegal organ trade and exploitation of the poor.
He established Nephrology, Dialysis and Kidney transplantation services in Railway Hospital, New Delhi. This benefitted lakhs of ailing railway beneficiaries across India. He mastered the fine art of microvascular surgery in making Fistulas which are the life lines of dialysis patients and ensure long term safe haemodialysis to them. He performed more than 1500 such surgeries at Railway Hospital. He has established successful dialysis and transplant centers both in public and private hospitals, thus extending the penetration of renal care in society.
He discovered a new gene locus causing kidney diseases and published it in Journal of American Society of Nephrology in 2004, besides many other original articles and papers in national and international journals. There was a resurgence of faith in delivery of health care in railway ecosystem. Disseminating his knowledge has been his passion and he has been a post graduate teacher and examiner for DNB degree over last 25 years and many of his students have trained and subsequently excelled in their careers both at home and abroad. He has helped the distraught and ailing fellow men through his charitable organization. His passion for his patients has been his dharma all his life.
He established first fully functional Nephrology and Dialysis center at Northern Railway Central Hospital, New Delhi which is an apex referral hospital for nearly six lakh railway beneficiaries and large number of retired railway men. He performed micro vascular surgeries and created AV Fistulas which enabled them to get safe dialysis on a long term basis. Being the first and only nephrologist on Indian Railways at that time, he was responsible for providing total renal care to lakhs of serving and retired railway men and their beneficiaries for two decades. He pioneered renal transplantation services and singlehandedly provided home peritoneal dialysis to kidney failure patients resulting in saving exchequers money by reducing dialysis referrals to outside hospitals. He designed new surgical techniques of making bed side fistulas in dialysis unit. His original papers received international awards and travel grants. He has been teaching and guiding the thesis of his post graduate students.[12]
His research on slowing kidney disease by modifying diet and adding ketoanalogues have resulted in delaying dialysis initiation. This has huge economic and psychological benefits. He has been called to talk about his work in many Asian countries. Recently he performed first renal transplant in Tanzania and has been training their doctors in doing kidney transplantation in their own country.[13][14]
He is running a charitable trust after his grandmother namely Pushpawati Memorial Charitable Trust at Haridwar since 1992.[15] The trust does not receive any external support and is run by internal means to provide assistance to socially, financially and medically challenged people. It is providing financial support to children from families living on footpaths and slums for studying at Pankh School in Rishikesh. In 2008, Satyaraj Foundation was formed which disseminates knowledge about prevention of diseases and also provides assistance to the patients suffering from kidney failure. It celebrates World Kidney Day in March every year to spread knowledge about diabetes, obesity, blood pressure and kidney disease. It promotes cadaveric organ donation. It conducts health camps for diagnosing asymptomatic disease burden. Nearly 8.5 percent people are suspected to have some form of kidney disease. He has given more than 500 talks, radio programs and TV shows to educate people on preventive aspects of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and kidney diseases. His talks inform about the right diet, benefits of regular exercise and life style modifications. Avoidance of excess of 5 S Salt, Sugar, Smoking, Stress and Sedentary life styles is his most quoted line. He has promoted cadaveric organ donation which prevents organ trade and exploitation of the poor. [16]
