Dr. Roshina Anjum, Assistant Professor of Nephrology at Lahore General Hospital, Pakistan, has participated in two Saving Young Lives (SYL) Acute Peritoneal Dialysis workshops. Her SYL journey began at the ISPD Congress in Dubai in September 2024, where she attended her first SYL workshop. What began as a learning opportunity quickly became the catalyst for transforming kidney care in her institution.
“The workshop opened new horizons for me. It was a great learning opportunity and a huge source of inspiration. I returned to Pakistan determined to establish a successful peritoneal dialysis program in my hospital.”
Two years later, Dr. Anjum joined SYL again at the World Congress of Nephrology (WCN) in Yokohama in March 2026, further building on the knowledge and experience she had gained since her first training.
When Dr. Anjum returned home, the challenges were significant. Her hospital had no peritoneal dialysis room, no trained team, no financial support, and no surgical backing for catheter insertion. She had never even performed or observed a PD catheter insertion herself.
Rather than giving up, she began meeting with hospital leadership to advocate for peritoneal dialysis. Although her initial requests were unsuccessful, she continued searching for solutions until she secured funding through Kidneys Beyond Borders (KBB), enabling the launch of her first PD patients.
In November 2024, she managed her first patient under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Ahad Qayyum, her ISPD Fellowship mentor, and, together with a PD nurse trained through the ISPD Fellowship, established the foundations of a new PD service. One of their earliest patients, a 25-year-old woman named Habiba, has been able to continue her education thanks to PD and is now pursuing her dream of becoming an architect.
The momentum continued to grow. Dr. Anjum trained colleagues, nurses, residents and dialysis staff, organized regular teaching sessions, presented at national and international conferences, facilitated PD workshops across Pakistan, and promoted knowledge sharing wherever possible.
A major milestone came in November 2025, when Lahore General Hospital performed its first-ever peritoneal dialysis catheter insertion in a public-sector hospital in Punjab. Around the same time, the hospital signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kidneys Beyond Borders, ensuring financial support for free PD services and allowing a dedicated PD room to be created from an unused corner of the nephrology unit.
Most recently, following guidance from Prof. Mignon McCulloch, Dr. Anjum took another important step: she organized a local workshop on Acute Peritoneal Dialysis in Resource-Limited Settings. The initiative brought together the Departments of Medicine and ICU, as well as nephrology colleagues from across the city who are actively providing PD services at their respective centers.
Nearly 50 participants attended, including Medicine and ICU faculty, postgraduate residents, nurses and dialysis technicians. The workshop was also supported by Prof. Dr. Ahad Qayyum, whose contribution helped make the initiative possible.
The program combined three short lectures with practical hands-on stations covering pre- and post-operative assessment for PD catheter insertion, catheter insertion techniques, preparation of PD fluids and circuits, and scenario-based PD prescription. By passing on the knowledge and practical skills she developed and further strengthened through her two SYL workshops, Dr. Anjum is now helping build acute PD capacity well beyond her own unit.
Today, the impact of her SYL training journey is evident:
- A fully equipped peritoneal dialysis unit has been established.
- Five patients are successfully receiving chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).
- A multidisciplinary PD team has been trained, including nurses, technicians and nephrology residents.
- Multiple educational workshops have been delivered across Pakistan.
- Nearly 50 healthcare professionals participated in her latest acute PD workshop.
- More than five PD research papers have been published.
- Dr. Anjum now serves on Pakistan’s national PD Task Force and is Secretary of the upcoming Third International PD Conference in Lahore.
Her work is far from over. The next goal is to further strengthen acute peritoneal dialysis in her hospital’s intensive care unit through continued staff training and bedside catheter insertion under the guidance of her mentor.
Reflecting on her journey, Dr. Anjum credits the support of the Saving Young Lives initiative, the ISPD Fellowship, her mentors, and Kidneys Beyond Borders for making what once seemed impossible become reality. Her latest workshop demonstrates the multiplier effect at the heart of SYL: after participating in two SYL workshops, a former trainee is now becoming a trainer herself, sharing skills locally and helping expand sustainable access to acute kidney care.
“None of this would have been possible without the teachings of my mentor and FCPS supervisor, the late Prof. Dr. Tahir Shafi. Special thanks also go to my current Head of Department, Prof. Dr. Ibad U Rehman, for supporting me at every step.”
Building on this momentum, Dr. Anjum is now applying to the ISN Fellowship Program to further develop her expertise. She has also reached another important practical milestone, having successfully performed her first PD catheter insertion. In addition, she now serves as Information Secretary and a formal member of Kidneys Beyond Borders (KBB), becoming one of the organization’s seven official members.
“The motivation it gave me to keep going is exponential. I can’t thank the SYL team enough for the opportunity.”
