Facts and dates
1963
The idea that became EDTA (European Dialysis and Transplant Association), originally WEDA (West European Dialysis Association), was born at a symposium on Acute Renal Failure at the Royal Free Hospital by Drs. William Drukker (The Netherlands), David Kerr (UK) and Stanley Shaldon (UK). WEDA was supposed to include Holland, West Germany, the UK, Belgium and Scandinavia. France was also invited to join, but it refused since for the country of Dr. J. Hamburger (France), the inventor of the word “nephrology”, thought that transplantation and not dialysis was the cure of kidney disease. Finally, and only after an excellent dinner in Paris among Dr. J. Hamburger (France) and the three founding members and a lot of discussion was the acronym EDTA born.
1964
The year after its foundation EDTA holds its first congress in Amsterdam, with a one-day program and 210 participants coming from 16 European countries and several extra-European countries, such as the US, Australia, Panama and Ghana. 36 papers and 18 films and demonstrations are presented, while the “plenary lectures” are held by Dr. William Kolff (The Netherlands) and Dr. Sergio Giovannetti (Italy). There are no simultaneous sessions. At this time the EDTA President and the congress President are the same person and, for this specific year, the congress President is Dr. B. Forminje (The Netherlands). The first EDTA Constitution is drafted, some of the main points being: a congress is held once a year for 1-2 days; a business meeting is held once a year before the congress; on a yearly basis the President is elected by the members at the business meeting among the members where the congress of the following year will be held; the Secretary-Treasurer is also elected by the members on an annual basis (but he/she can be re-elected); the functions of the President and the Secretary-Treasurer are outlined; the Council is made up of 7 members (5 ordinary plus the President and the Secretary-Treasurer), no more than two members from the same country are allowed in the Council, only EDTA members can present works at the annual congress, the official languages are English and French and finally, the Editor of the Proceedings is appointed by the Council and has a 3 year term (renewable for another 3 year term).
The members are 82.
The first logo is created by Dr. S. Shaldon, and, in the words of Dr. W. Drukker “It was neither beautiful nor original. The somewhat cryptographic antique symbols were from a book by Weinsberg from Chicago which indicated: water, salt, acid and alkali”.
Dr. W. Drukker is nominated as the first Secretary-Treasurer while Dr. D. Kerr is nominated as the Editor of the annual Proceedings.
For the first nine papers were presented and published in English and French and, therefore, Dr. D. Fries and J. Traeger become the French co-Editors.
EDTA decides that the collection of data on kidney failure and treatment in Europe will become a permanent activity of the Society and so it creates a Registry, Dr. W. Drukker is its first Chair. A close collaboration with the “Boston Registry” started.
1965
The annual congress is held in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (UK) for a day and a half and its President is Dr. J. Swinney (UK). 60 abstracts are received and 39 are accepted. The first “legal” constitution is drafted after the association is registered in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) on October 14, 1965 (and it was supposed to last until January 1995). For the first time the list of members (Directory) is published in the Proceedings.
The first mention of an annual membership fee is made: £ 4 (including the Proceedings book) as well as the first mention of a congress fee: £ 4.
The members are 292.
The first mention of travel grants is made as well as a definition of “junior members” (“those holding positions which did not guarantee permanent tenure of office”).
The first Registry report is presented with data on 271 chronic patients from 41 European centres and of these 271 patients, 160 were alive. The data on Renal Transplantation instead confirms that 258 renal transplants had been performed and details regarding 187 patients are presented.
1966
The annual congress is held in Lyon (France), and 240 people attended the meeting. The President is Dr. J. Traeger (France). At this congress, during a memorable dinner, an agreement is reached regarding keeping the “T” in EDTA (transplantation), after a long-debated controversy.
1967
The annual congress was supposed to be held in Copenhagen (Denmark) but it was relocated to Paris (France) to avoid a potential clash with the ITS (International Transplant Society) congress: the meetings were held consecutively having one day in common.
150 people attended this congress.
The President is Dr. J.H. Thaysen (Denmark).
1968
On its 5th anniversary EDTA has 490 members. The program of its annual congress (held in Dublin, Ireland and the President is Dr. A. Walsh from Ireland) is extended to two days. This is the first time that the Paper Selection Committee is created (5 experts), it reviewed 121 abstracts: of these 47 main papers are selected for presentation as well as “19 scientific demonstrations”. Abstracts were reviewed as follows: 1 = poor, 2 = good, 3 = excellent. Abstracts could not exceed 250 words.
In 1968 the first “Annual Report” is presented to the members, for the 1967-1968 activities of the Association. Included in the “Annual Report” is the Directory of Members which also includes the European dialysis centers.
It was decided to create a Registry committee including an expert for the dialysis registry and one for the transplantation registry. Initially the Chair was a Council member, then it was decided to appoint a separate person with expertise in registries who would become a Council member. Prof. P. Michielsen (Belgium) was appointed as the new Registry Chair.
1969
The congress, which originally was supposed to be held in East Berlin (FRG), is relocated to Stockholm (Sweden), back-to-back with the congress of the ISN, with one session in common. The President is Dr. H. Dutz (FRG). A total of 77 abstracts were received (and 60 were accepted).
For the first time, in the “Annual Report” the description of how the selection of the abstracts to be presented at the annual congress is made: all council members receive the submitted abstracts (without the name of the author or the centres to which they are attached); each abstract is evaluated by giving a score (0-5); the final selection is then done by the Paper Selection Committee. At least one author of the submitted abstracts must be an EDTA member and the work must be original and never been published before or given at a meeting prior to the EDTA.
For the first time EDTA can accept financial aid from commercial firms by creating a fund called the “Travelling and General Purpose Fund”, the first grants were called “Baxter/Travenol Grant” to provide subsistence allowances for junior members to attend the congress.
Membership fees from the Eastern Block countries can be collected locally and can be used by the Association according to Council’s decisions.
The annual membership fee is USD 20.00.
Dr. M. Carmody (Ireland) is elected as the Secretary-Treasurer.
1970
The annual congress, held in Barcelona (Spain), has more than 1,000 participants with 160 abstracts sent. The President is Dr. E. Rotellar (Spain).
Dr. J.S. Cameron (UK) is elected as the Editor of the Proceedings.
A part-time secretary was hired to support the EDTA Registry.
The first auditors are appointed to review the annual EDTA accounts (2 members).
1971
The annual congress is held in East Berlin (FRG). It is the first EDTA congress to be held in the part of Europe belonging to the Socialist Block. Only 25% of the abstracts (171 were received) are accepted for presentation. There were 800 participants (of these only 200 are EDTA members). The President is Dr. N. Alwall (Sweden).
Dr. H. Gurland (Germany) is elected as the Registry Chair (up to 1976) and during this same year a paediatric registry was added to the EDTA Registry, in this year the Registry moved from The Netherlands to Germany. The Registry questionnaire was distributed to 424 centers (vs 217 in the previous year).
The number of members reaches 700.
1972
From this year onwards the position of President of EDTA lasts for three years, Dr. A.C. Kennedy (UK) is elected as President. The role of the President of the congress is introduced.
The annual congress is held in Florence (Italy) with 1,209 participants, from now on the congresses are organized jointly with EDTNA. The congress President is Dr. L. Migone. For the first time it was decided that “Abstracts of Scientific Demonstrations” would not automatically be accepted but that they would also have to go through peer-review before being presented at the congress. For the first time parallel sessions (2) were introduced. A total of 189 abstracts were received. 30 companies were present in the exhibition (450 sq.m.).
During the Congress EDTNA (now EDTNA/ERCA) is founded and 120 nurses attend the congress.
The number of members is approx. 800.
610 Centers receive the Registry questionnaire (94% reply, approximately 18.750 patients are included).
1973
EDTA opens its bank account in Switzerland and adopts the Swiss Franc as the currency for its accountancy, due to its stability. The annual membership fee is CHF 70.
The annual congress is held in Vienna (Austria), the congress President is Dr. B. Watschinger (Austria). The congress is held jointly with EDTNA. The participants were 1.253. For the first time the word “Nephrology” is added to the title of the Proceedings (previously only “Dialysis” and “Transplantation” were present) and general nephrology topics make a significant impact upon the content of the scientific programme of the congress. 232 abstracts are received. For the first time the Proceedings were distributed in the USA with the “Transactions” of the ASAIO (American Society for Artificial Internal Organs). The first mention of copyright issues is made (“… articles, figures and tables cannot be published unless they are original, or written permission is obtained from previous publishers for their reproduction.”). 34 exhibitors were present covering 711 sq.m. For the first time a publisher was present in the exhibition.
The number of members is 850.
770 Centers receive the Registry questionnaire (between 24.000 and 25.000 patients are included).
Dr. V.E. Andreucci (Italy) is elected as the Secretary-Treasurer while Dr. J. Moorehead (UK) is elected as the Editor of the Proceedings.
1974
The annual congress is held in Tel Aviv (Israel), the congress President is Dr. J. Rosenfeld (Israel). The congress days are increased from 2 to 3. 206 abstracts were received: 50% dialysis, 34% nephrology and 16% transplantation. 900 participants attended the Congress.
3,000 copies of the congress Proceedings are printed, 1,000 copies more than the previous year, and an advance order of 500 copies is made from Japan. The Proceedings are indexed in “Index Medicus”.
The accepted abstracts appear in the September 1974 issue of Kidney International (Volume 6, No. 3).
The first “EDTA-Travenol Fellowship” is awarded to Dr. G. Seyffart (Germany) who spent a three-month period in the United States.
The Registry includes 850 centers with 35.000 patients.
For the first time the Registry Directory highlights those dialysis units with dialysis facilities for visitors and those doing paediatric dialysis.
1975
The annual congress is held in Copenhagen (Denmark), the congress President is Dr. J.H. Thaysen (Denmark). 1150 delegates attended from 39 different countries. Demonstrations (= new methodologic techniques) presented at the Congress will, from 1975 onwards, no longer be included in the Proceedings (nor in KI). The congress registrations fees are divided between early-late and physicians, nurses and accompanying persons as follows:
Physicians, early: USD 55 – late: USD 70
Nurses, early: USD 40 – late USD 55
Accompanying persons, early: USD 40 – late USD 40
During the Congress the first meeting between EDTA and the National Societies of Nephrology in Europe is held, one of the aims is to decide on suitable candidates from Europe for ISN.
There are 876 members (of which 741 are Full members).
It was decided that the EDTA Director of Members and Dialysis Centers would be printed every two years and not on a yearly basis.
Funding for the EDTA Registry was accepted also from industry, before only national country funding was possible.
1976
The annual congress is held in Hamburg (Germany), the congress President is Dr. G. Schuetterle (Germany). 255 abstracts + 16 demonstrations are received. 1.700 participants. For the first time ERA members receive a 20% discount to register for the Congress. For the first time registrations for exhibitors clarify that these types of registrations do not allow attendance to the scientific programme.
Dr. A. Wing is elected Registry Chair and Dr. B.H.B. Robinson (UK) is elected as the Editor of the Proceedings. The Registry is moved to St. Thomas’s Hospital in London (from Munich, Germany) where it will remain until 1999. The data of the EDTA Registry is transferred from the IBM system to the NOMDS one (Bristol Univ.).
“How to become a member” is advertised for the first time in the Proceedings listing all the membership benefits.
1977
The annual congress is held in Helsinki (Finland), the congress President is Dr. B. Linstrom (Finland). The first poster session is organized at the congress. No simultaneous translation is offered for EDTA sessions, this is only available for EDTNA. For the first time exhibitors have the right to receive two complimentary registrations for the exhibition.
The Proceedings of this congress include a summary of each of the poster presentations.
1978
Dr. M. Legrain (France) is elected as President.
The annual congress is held in Istanbul (Turkey), the congress President is Dr. K. Onen (Turkey).
A useful terminology description is introduced in the Proceedings of this congress especially due to new techniques that come into use, including “Isolated Ultrafiltration”, “Haemofiltration”, etc.
For the first time there were no communications or discussions in French but all was presented/discussed in English.
1979
The annual congress is held in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), the congress President is Dr. A. Struyvenberg (The Netherlands). Parallel sessions at the annual congress are increased. More than 2,000 delegates attended this congress.
There are more than 1,200 active members.
Dr. S.T. Boen (The Netherlands) is elected as the Secretary-Treasurer.
1980
The annual congress is held in Prague (Czechoslovakia), the congress President is Dr. A. Valek (Czechoslovakia). Manuscripts are submitted for the Proceedings according to the “Vancouver style”. For the first time the posters are allotted equal space with oral presentations and both were grouped under their respective subject headings.
1981
Dr. V.E. Andreucci is elected President and EDTA adds ERA (European Renal Association) to its name to reflect the fact that there is more in nephrology than just dialysis and transplantation. So, after the ratification done by the General Assembly at the following year’s congress, the association is named EDTA-ERA.
The annual congress is held in Paris (France), the congress President is Dr. J.L. Funk-Bretano (France). The Proceedings this year also appear in “Artificial Organs” due to the “Joint Meeting EDTA/ISAO”. For the first time the authors presenting the paper are highlighted in “bold type”.
1982
The name EDTA-ERA becomes official.
This year the first Honorary Members are nominated: Drs. A. Kennedy and W. Drukker.
The annual congress is held in Madrid (Spain), the congress President is Dr. J. Botella (Spain). The text of the discussions held after the presentation of the free communications, the symposia and the Registry reports are included in the Proceedings. For the first time the index is not present in the Proceedings and in its place the name and address for correspondence of each author is included at the end of the text of each communication, furthermore, the index in the main part gives the first page number of the communication concerned rather than the page which on the word or subject appears.
For the first time large visibility is given to the posters, each being allotted 8-10 minutes of chaired discussion time: these were called the “video-poster sessions”.
It is during this year that the first mention of the close collaboration between the National Nephrological Societies and EDTA is made: they were instrumental in suggesting chairs for the congress sessions and informing their members of the congress itself. During the congress the first meeting between ERA-EDTA and the Presidents of the National Societies takes place.
Dr. A.M. Davison (UK) is elected as the Editor of the Proceedings.
1983
The annual congress is held in London (UK), the congress President is Dr. D.N.S. Kerr (UK). More than 600 abstracts (624) are submitted 300 of which dealing with clinical nephrology (in 1981 these had been 89) and for the first time the abstracts dealing with clinical nephrology exceed those dealing with dialysis.
The first stand-alone meeting with the Presidents of the National Societies is organized in Milan (Italy) on October 28, 1983. During this meeting important items are agreed upon: a meeting between EDTA-ERA and the Presidents of the National Societies will be organized at each EDTA-ERA congress; the President of the National Society of the host country where the congress will be held will be invited to the Council meeting one year ahead of time to discuss with the Council members about matters linked to the congress and, finally, two years before a congress the congress President will involve the Presidents of the National Societies in the discussion/organization of the scientific programme of the congress.
1984
Dr. J.S. Cameron (UK) is elected President.
The annual congress is held in Florence (Italy) and the number of attendants is 3,000. The congress President is Dr. V. Cambi (Italy).
The congress hosted the Registry report, 9 guest lectures, 1 symposium, 66 free communications and 73 poster presentations. The abstracts submitted were 596.
There were 1,450 members.
The Chair of the EDTA-ERA Registry becomes an ex-officio Council member.
During this year it is decided that starting 1985 EDTA-ERA and EDTNA will hold back-to-back congresses and no longer joint ones.
Dr. J. Botella (Spain) is elected as the Secretary-Treasurer.
1985
The annual congress is held in Brussels (Belgium) and it lasts four days following a decision ratified by the General Assembly in 1982 to include more clinical nephrology in the programme; the congress President is Dr. S. Ringoir (Belgium). 699 abstracts were submitted.
This is the last year in which the Proceedings are published, they had grown from 320 pages (1964) to 1,284 pages (1985).
In this year honorary membership is granted to scientists who have given outstanding contributions to the fields of interest to the Association, W.J. Kolff (The Netherlands) and B.H. Scribner (USA).
Dr. F. Brunner (Switzerland) is elected Chair of the Registry.
1986
EDTA-ERA decides to have its own journal, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, Dr. A.M. Davison who was already the Editor of the Proceedings, becomes the Editor-in-Chief of this new Journal while the publisher is Springer Verlag, it is published every two months. Formerly the annual Congress Proceedings and the Book of Abstracts were the only publications.
The annual congress is held in Budapest (Hungary), the congress President is Dr. I. Taraba (Hungary) and 838 abstracts were submitted.
The Registry provides data at its session during the congress on patients from 2,065 European centres thus 82% of all centres covering 111,300 European patients living with the support of either dialysis or a functioning transplant.
1987
Dr. H. Klinkmann (GDR – East Germany) is elected as President.
The file of EDTA-ERA members and the accounts go digital. Formerly there were paper files only.
The annual membership fee is CHF 125.
The annual congress is held in West Berlin (FRG – West Germany), the congress President is Dr. M. Kessel. 788 abstracts were submitted.
At the General Assembly it was decided to create an EDTA-ERA Fellowship programme.
1988
The annual congress is held in Madrid (Spain), the congress President is Dr. J. Botella (Spain). Almost 1,000 abstracts are submitted for evaluation (990) and 316 had been approved (= 32%).
In 1988 two Research Fellowships (Grants) were awarded for the first time.
EDTNA holds its annual congress separately from EDTA-ERA.
1989
The annual congress is held in Gothenburg (Sweden), the congress President is Dr. H. Brynger (Sweden). The abstracts submitted were 968 from 39 countries.
At the meeting between EDTA-ERA and the National Societies held during the congress, the topic of uniforming nephrology training across Europe was mentioned for the first time.
Acceptance rate in NDT is 35% and manuscripts are being published within six months of being accepted.
1990
Dr. J. Botella (Spain) is elected as President. For the first time the annual congress, held in Vienna (Austria), has over 3,000 participants. The congress President is Dr. B. Watchinger (Austria). The number of submitted abstracts submitted for the first time is over 1,000 (1,139).
M. McGewon is the first woman to receive the EDTA-ERA Honorary Membership.
The members are 2.049 (January 1st).
Dr. V. Cambi (Italy) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer.
Competition of national and regional Registries and the EDTA-ERA Registry became very relevant so the Council appointed the Executive Director of the Registry, Dr. N. Selwood (UK), to make sure that the EDTA-ERA Registry would act as an “umbrella” for the other newborn ones.
1991
From this year on the votes to elect Council members are collected during the annual congress, by means of a voting station, and not just at the General Assembly.
The annual congress that was supposed to be held in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) is relocated to Rimini (Italy) due to the Balkan war. The congress President is Dr. V. Cambi (Italy). The abstracts submitted were 756.
The members are 2.172 (January 1st).
Dr. N. Mallick (UK) is elected Chair of the Registry.
V. Cambi creates the permanent HQ secretariat in Parma (Italy) in charge of the membership but also starting to follow the congress organization, in particular the exhibition/sponsorships and the registrations.
1992
From this year onwards the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation is published by Oxford University Press.
The annual congress is held in Paris (France), the congress President is Dr. C. Jacobs (France). The abstracts submitted were 1,107.
The members are 2,314 (January 1st).
1993
Dr. J. Bernheim (Israel) is elected as President and Dr. E. Ritz (Germany) is elected as the Editor-in-Chief of NDT. The annual congress is held in Glasgow – Scotland (UK), the congress President is Dr. D.J. Briggs (UK). The abstracts submitted were 1,081. The congress was held in collaboration with EDTNA/ERCA as a joint congress.
The members are 2,659 (January 1st).
1994
The annual congress is held in Vienna (Austria), the congress President is Dr. H.K. Stumvoll (Austria). It has 3,625 participants and the abstracts submitted were 1,251. For the first time the HQ in Parma is involved in the organization of the annual Congress, in particular regarding the congress registrations. The congress was held in collaboration with EDTNA/ERCA as a joint congress.
The members are 2,873 (January 1st).
EDTA-ERA is no longer a Dutch non-for-profit entity but is an English and Welsh Charity.
The EDTA-ERA Registry is financially fully supported by the Society.
The rejection rate of the articles submitted to NDT is 53%.
1995
The name of the association is modified from EDTA-ERA to ERA-EDTA.
The annual congress is held in Athens (Greece), the congress President is Dr. Th. Mountokalakis (Greece), 2,877 participants attended the Congress and 1,299 abstracts were submitted.
The members are 3,255 (January 1st).
Dr. F. Valderrabano (Spain) is elected Chair of the Registry.
1996
Dr. F. Berthoux (France) is elected as President. ERA-EDTA has its first website.
For the first time the annual congress (Amsterdam – The Netherlands) is attended by over 4,000 participants (4,287). The congress President is Dr. A.J.M. Donker (The Netherlands). 1,674 abstracts were submitted. The Congress was held, back-to-back, with EDTNA/ERCA.
Dr. F. Carrera (Portugal) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer.
The new Managing Director of the Registry is Dr. R. Gellert (Poland) and a new software programme is purchased/used (Prof. Mendel, Univ. of Tel Aviv). The new software (McPas system) was distributed, free of charge, to over 3.000 centers.
The members are 3,680 (January 1st).
Support by EDTA-ERA is given for CME activity, in 1994, three courses are organized in Eastern Europe in collaboration with ISN and the Kuratorium Gesellschaft Nephrologie.
This same year a new role within the Council was created: the Chair of the Administrative Offices. This role was created to better administer the financial matters of the Association by having two ex-officio officers in charge of the finances, the role of the Secretary-Treasurer being that of the investments and outgoing payments while the role of the Chair of the Administrative Offices being that of the ex-officio officer in charge of incoming funds. The first Chair of the Administrative Offices was Dr. V. Cambi (Italy).
The ERA-EDTA establishes a new constitution (fully incorporating the Registry and the NDT Journal).
1997
The annual congress is supposed to be held in Jerusalem (Israel) but it is relocated to Geneva (Switzerland) due to terrorist attacks. The congress President is Dr. J. Bernheim (Israel), 2,927 participants attended the Congress and 1,180 abstracts were submitted. The ERA HQ becomes more and more involved in the organization of the congress, in particular with the contractual aspects (i.e. congress center, hotels, etc.).
Dr. J.D. Briggs (UK) is elected Chair of the Registry.
The first woman, Dr. M. Kessler (France) is elected as an ordinary council member.
At the beginning of the year the ERA-EDTA becomes an English and Welsh Charity thus moving its legal residence from The Netherlands to London (UK).
ERA-EDTA’s subsidiary company, ERA-Eurocongress Ltd., is created in March of this year enabling the Association to fully organize its own annual congresses which, up to this moment had been organized by external PCOs (Professional Congress Organizers).
The members are 4,229 (January 1st).
1998
The annual congress is held in Rimini (Italy) and the congress President is Dr. P. Zucchelli (Italy), 3,526 participants attended the Congress and 1,563 abstracts were submitted. Delegates: 3.526
The members are 4,600 (January 1st).
The ERA Committee of the European Best Guidelines was created.
A first CME Course was organized outside of Europe (Cuba).
1999
Dr. A.M. Davison (UK) is elected as President and Dr. T. Drueke (France) is elected as the Editor-in-Chief of NDT.
The annual congress is held in Madrid (Spain) and the congress President is Dr. F. Valderrabano (Spain), 4,362 participants attended the Congress. 1,694 abstracts were submitted.
It was decided to always hold the ERA-EDTA Congresses in May/June each year.
The members are 4,860 (January 1st).
Dr. L. Piera (Spain) is elected as Chair of the Administrative Offices.
2000
The ERA-EDTA Registry gets a new life. It is transferred from London to Amsterdam (Department of Epidemiology and Informatics of the AMC – Academic Medical Centre) and its procedures for collecting and processing data is completely transformed. The Registry Committee has a new format: 4 members are nominated by the National Registries, 4 by the ERA-EDTA Council and two by the ESPN.
ERA-EDTA collaborates actively both with ASN and ISN, for the first time there is an exchange of speakers between ERA-EDTA and ASN at the respective annual Congresses.
The annual congress is held in Nice (France) and the congress President is Dr. F. Berthoux (France), 4,754 participants attended the Congress. The Congress is held in collaboration with EKRA (basic science). 1,736 abstracts were submitted in four main categories: basic science, nephrology, dialysis and transplantation: the most number of abstracts were concerning dialysis (38%) while the least in transplantation (15%). Japan was the 6th country as far as number of abstracts submitted, beating Spain, France and the UK.
The members are 5,053 (January 1st).
2001
The Euro becomes the currency of the ERA-EDTA bank accounts and also of its balance sheets.
The annual congress is held in Vienna (Austria) and the congress President is Dr. W.H. Hoerl (Austria), 4,434 participants attended the Congress. The abstracts submitted were 1,527.
The members are 5,195 (January 1st). The status of senior membership was introduced.
The European Best Guidelines name was transformed into the European Best Practice Guidelines (EBPG).
2002
Dr. F. Locatelli (Italy) is elected as President.
ERA-EDTA creates its free, online educational journal NDT-Educational.
In this same year, for the first time the congress (Copenhagen) has over 5,000 participants (5,106). From this year onwards the abstracts of the congress are submitted also online, the abstracts submitted were 1,780. The congress President is Dr. K. Olgaard (Denmark).
The members are 5,294 (January 1st).
Dr. J.B. Cannata-Andia (Spain) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer.
The new CME (Continuing Medical Education) programme begins and ERA-EDTA financially supports 4 courses.
Regarding NDT in 2002: 1200 manuscripts were accepted, 730 were original articles, for which the acceptance rate was 30%, and 230 case reports, for which the rejection rate was 80%.
2003
A change to the Constitution is introduced, to add scientific research to the statutory aims of the association.
In Berlin (Germany) ERA-EDTA and ISN have their congresses together as one joint congress and the congress President is Dr. E. Ritz (Germany), 8,833 participants attended this joint Congress. A total of 1,951 abstracts were received.
The members are 5,467 as of January 1st. This year the very discounted annual membership fee (EUR 50) was introduced for junior members (less than 35 years of age). Furthermore, also students (less than 28 years of age) could now attend the annual congress for a very low registration fee (EUR 50).
The National Society Grant was introduced, offering three years of junior membership and one complimentary congress registration to a young presenter/author (less than 35 years of age) selected by the National Society.
Dr. C. Zoccali (Italy) is elected Chair of the Registry.
2004
The congress is held in Lisbon (Portugal) and the congress President is Dr. F. Carrera (Portugal), 5,631 participants attended the Congress and nearly 2,000 abstracts were received, 10% more than those received in 2023. The acceptance rate was 65%.
The members are 5,606 (January 1st).
ERA-EDTA with the collaboration of the Registry starts holding courses on epidemiology, due to their success they will be repeated twice a year.
ERA-EDTA starts publishing a newsletter, Follow Us, to inform all members about the current news concerning the society.
Articles submitted to NDT 2,304.
2005
Starting this year, the ERA-EDTA President (F. Locatelli – Italy) becomes the co-President of the annual congress while the congress President becomes the local congress President. The congress is held in Istanbul (Turkey) and the local congress President is Dr. K. Serdengecti (Turkey). The participants are more than 6,000 (6,135). A total of 1,959 abstracts were received.
The members are 5,742 (January 1st).
The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is created to support the Council in the evaluation of the society’s scientific and educational projects.
NDT’s Impact Factor is 2.607.
Dr. J.B. Cannata-Andia (Spain) is elected as President, Dr. A. Covic (Romania) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. R. Coppo (Italy) is elected as Chair of the Administrative Offices and Dr. N. Lameire (Belgium) is elected as the Editor-in-Chief of NDT.
Shortly after the nomination of Dr. N. Lameire as EiC the Journal’s name was shortened from Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation to NDT.
The Ethics Committee is created.
Articles submitted to NDT 2,563.
2006
ERA-EDTA starts its fellowships programme.
The congress is held in Glasgow (UK) and the local congress President is Dr. J. Fox (UK), 5,823 participants attended the Congress. Congress Grants were increased by 50% reaching a total amount of EUR 50,000.
2,262 abstracts were submitted, there were 89 free communications, 1,522 posters and 651 were rejected. 1,611 abstracts were accepted, that means 71% of those submitted.
The members are 5,235 (January 1st) a number which is slightly lower than the previous year due to the fact that, from now onwards, all members who have not paid their previous outstanding two years (no longer three) are cancelled from the membership database.
In December 2006 NDT-Educational published its 100th issue, it had 8213 registered users. 70% from them were not members of ERA-EDTA. There were 32,965 visits per month, with 120.824 downloaded pages.
NDT’s IF is 3,15.
The ERA-EDTA Long- and Short-term fellowship programme is launched and the first five fellowships are granted. The collaboration with EMBO is key regarding the evaluation and administration of the grants.
The SAB, Scientific Advisory Board is created to support the Council in evaluating specific educational and scientific projects.
The Registry starts the QUEST study.
2007
The congress is held in Barcelona (Spain) and the local congress President is Dr. L. Piera (Spain), 6,572 participants attended the Congress. 1,967 were the submitted abstracts.
The members are 5,233 (January 1st).
Within NDT-Educational a new initiative, freely accessible to all, starts: Literature Review.
ERA-EDTA becomes part of EKHA (European Kidney Health Alliance), an alliance of physicians, patients, nurses and foundations to lobby at the EU level for nephrology.
In this year a new paediatric registry is created at the ERA-EDTA Registry office at AMC in Amsterdam with the collaboration of ESPN (European Society of Pediatric Nephrology). It has a separate data collection including many clinical variables: the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry.
The Junior membership age was raised from 35 to 40.
Articles submitted to NDT 3,071.
The Registry receives EU funding for the NephroQuest project.
The ERA website undergoes a full restructuring.
The limit of max one talk and one chair for members participating in industry symposia was approved.
2008
Dr. G. London (France) is elected as President.
ERA-EDTA creates a second journal: NDT Plus. The Editor-in-Chief of NDT Plus is the same as the one for NDT, thus Dr. N. Lameire (Belgium). The total number of submissions to NDT was 2949 (2043 original submissions and 906 revisions); while NDT Plus received 623 manuscripts (441 and 182 revisions).
From this year on the votes to elect Council members are collected online a few weeks before the General Assembly, at the same time still keeping the possibility to vote during the annual congress and at the General Assembly.
The congress is held in Stockholm (Sweden) and the local congress President is Dr. A. Alvestrand (Sweden), 6,836 delegates attended the Congress. 1,966 abstracts were submitted, 138 free communications, of which 1,035 were accepted as posters and 793 were rejected.
The National Society Grant was introduced.
The members are 5,233 (January 1st).
29 CME courses are supported by ERA-EDTA in this year. A DVD with all the slide presentations of the 2007 CMEs (132 lectures from 20 CME Courses) were sent to all the ERA members as a membership benefit.
The EBPG changes its name from EBPG to ERBP (European Renal Best Practice).
The visits to the website are around 16,000 per month.
2009
The second congress of ERA-EDTA and ISN together is held, in Milan (Italy) and the local congress President is F. Locatelli (Italy), this joint Congress saw the participation of 9,713 delegates. The abstracts submitted were 3,611 (including 6 Late Braking Clinical Trials abstracts).
The members are 5,355 (January 1st).
ERA-EDTA establishes its first Working Groups.
The ERA-EDTA Research Program starts.
The NDT submissions were 3127 (2168 original papers and 959 revisions) and 630 (430 original papers and 200 revisions) for NDT Plus.
Dr. C. Wanner (Germany) is elected Chair of the Registry.
For the first time electronic voting for the election of the ordinary council members by the Full members is introduced.
2010
The ERA-EDTA Ethics Committee is created in its current format becoming a permanent committee.
The congress is held in Munich (Germany) in collaboration with the German Soc. of Nephrology and the local congress President is C. Wanner (Germany), 8,435 participants attended this Congress. The abstracts submitted were 2,371.
The members are 5,620 (January 1st).
The first Working Groups are created: EURECAM and IWG.
Three research projects are launched and fully funded by ERA-EDTA.
The NDT submissions were 3444 (2333 original papers and 1111 revisions) and 607 (420 original papers and 187 revisions) for NDT Plus.
2011
Dr. R. Vanholder (Belgium) is elected as President, Dr. A. Wiecek (Poland) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer and Dr. C. Zoccali (Italy) is elected as the Editor-in-Chief of NDT.
The first ERA-EDTA rs are assigned. Stanley Shaldon, Eberhard Ritz and Norbert Lameire are the first awardees.
ERA-EDTA introduces a new up-dated version of its logo.
Dr. Alain Meyrier (France) becomes the EiC of NDT-Plus.
The congress is held in Prague (Czech Republic) and the local congress President is Dr. V. Tesar (Czech Republic), 7,826 participants attended the Congress. 1,989 abstracts were received, of which 132 were accepted as a free communication and 1,151 as posters.
The members are 5,794 (January 1st).
FERA (ERA-EDTA Distinguished Fellow) title is introduced.
EuTOX becomes an endorsed ERA-EDTA working group.
2012
ERA-EDTA, at the annual congress in Paris (France), honors the pioneers of Nephrology. The local congress President is Dr. P. Ronco (France).
For the first time the annual congress has an App.
For the first time the annual congress reaches 8,531 delegates and received 2,672 abstracts.
The members are 5,885 (January 1st).
All members of ERA-EDTA committees/bodies must fill in their DoI (Declaration of Interest). These forms are freely accessible to all on the ERA-EDTA web-site.
NDT Plus changes its name and becomes CKJ – Clinical Kidney Journal.
Dr. M. Ketteler (Germany) is elected Chair of the Administrative Offices.
Becomes a member of ASN-FDA’s initiative Kidney Health Initiative (KHI).
2013
Follow Us Flash, the electronic ERA-EDTA Newsletter, is created and sent out to all the ERA-EDTA contacts every two weeks.
The abstracts to the annual congresses are only submitted online, paper submission is no longer possible. 2,397 abstracts were submitted for the 2013 congress.
This is the 50th anniversary of ERA-EDTA and the congress is held in Istanbul (Turkey), while the local congress President is Dr. G: Suleymanlar (Turkey). For the first time the 1stday of the Congress, the opening day, is a full CME Course day. There are 7,634 participants.
The members are 5,939 (January 1st).
ComIA (Committee for International Affairs) is created for initiatives that are held outside of the traditional geographical area (young fellowships; support to CME courses; etc.).
The YNP (Young Nephrologists’ Platform) is created.
2014
Dr. A. Wiecek (Poland) is elected as President and Dr. J. Fox (UK) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer.
During the year, for the first time the ERA-EDTA members are more than 7,000.
ERA-EDTA supports, through its Registry, EURODOPPS.
ERA-EDTA’s Social Media activity starts.
A half-day meeting is organized with the National Societies of Nephrology a part from the traditional meeting held during the annual ERA-EDTA Congress.
The strapline, “Leading European Nephrology”, is added to the ERA-EDTA logo.
The congress is held in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the local congress President is Dr. P. ter Wee (The Netherlands), there were 8,146 participants and 2,164 abstracts were submitted.
Dr. Alberto Ortiz becomes the new EiC of CKJ.
Joint collaboration and face-to-face meetings begin among the leaders of ASN, ERA-EDTA and ISN.
2015
The congress is held in London (UK) and the congress President is Dr. D. Goldsmith (UK). E-materials of the congress are provided to all delegates.
The members are 6,885 (January 1st).
For the first time 2,679 abstracts are received.
Tweeting activity is organized during the congress.
CKJ becomes an Open Access Journal and the Council decides to waive all APCs until the Journal has an IF.
Votes for ordinary council membership elections can only be cast online.
Dr. Z. Massy (France) is elected Chair of the Registry.
2016
The congress is held in Vienna (Austria) in collaboration with the Austrian Soc. of Nephrology and the local congress President is Dr. G. Mayer (Austria). 2,344 abstracts were submitted and there were 8,073 delegates.
ENP (European Nephrology Portal) is launched.
The members are 6,344 (January 1st).
Euromeetings srl, the limited company based in Italy in charge of following the commercial activities of the ERA-EDTA, is donated to ERA-Eurocongress (the London based subsidiary company of ERA-EDTA).
Follow us Flash becomes ERA-EDTA Flash and has a new logo.
ckj was accepted for indexing in the new Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) database from Clarivate Analytics (previously Thomson Reuters).
2017
Dr. C. Zoccali (Italy) is elected as President, Dr. I. Rychlik (Czech Republic) is elected as Secretary-Treasurer and Dr. D. Fouque (France) is elected as the Editor-in-Chief of NDT.
The congress is held in Madrid (Spain) and the local congress President is Dr. J.B. Cannata-Andia (Spain). There were 7,005 delegates and 2,481 abstracts were submitted.
The members are 6,658 (January 1st).
The Registry is a member of the EU funded EDITH project.
ERA-EDTA has its motto: Innovation and Education in Kidney Science and Care.
2018
The congress is held in Copenhagen (Denmark) with the Danish Soc. of Nephrology and the local congress President is Dr. B. Feldt-Rasmussen (Denmark). The congress delegates are 6,887 and 2,162 abstracts were submitted.
The members are 6,768 (January 1st).
The Society introduces a completely new logo and color code for identifying its core activities.
The CEPD (Continuing Education and Professional Development) committee substitutes the old CME committee to prepare a unique CME programme for the first day of the annual congress.
The SEID (Scientific and Educational Interaction Day) committee is created to organize a new educational and interactive day to be held separately from the congress and in collaboration with the working groups and committees of the Society.
In September 2018, the cardio-renal collection was launched, a virtual Journal including cardio-renal medicine articles from NDT, ckj and the European Society of Cardiology Journals published by OUP.
A new educational section in NDT, called ‘NDT Digest’, is published summarising an important renal topic in one educational page for renal fellows. Articles are chosen, selected, and edited in collaboration with the ERA-EDTA Young Nephrologists’ Platform (YNP).
The duties of ComIA and the Award Committee are taken over by the SAB optimizing the various committees of the Society.
The following new committees are also created: GNC (Green Nephrology Committee), NPPC (Nephrology and Public Policy Committee) and the ECC (Electronic Communications Committee).
The Chair of the Administrative Offices becomes the Renal Science Chair and the Chair of the Registry instead becomes the Clinical Nephrology Governance Chair.
Dr. D. Fliser (Germany) is elected as the Renal Science Chair.
2019
The congress is held in Budapest (Hungary) in collaboration with the Hungarian Soc. of Nephrology and the local congress President is Dr. George Reusz (Hungary). The first CEPD Courses were organized during the Congress. There were 6,766 delegates and 2,178 abstracts were submitted.
A new graphic design for the ERA-EDTA website is launched at the time of the annual Congress.
The members are 6,020 (January 1st).
The first SEID was organized in October in Vienna (Austria).
EKHA becomes a Belgian NGO on August 26, 2019.
CKJ receives its first impact factor of 2.975 in June 2019.
ERA-EDTA Flash becomes Nephrology News Flash (NNF) and has a new logo.
2020
The annual congress that should have taken place in Milan (June 6-9) was cancelled regarding its live component due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however in just 11 weeks our traditional congress was transformed into a fully virtual event still maintain the full scientific programme and speaker portfolio. It was a huge success with over 5,250 delegates attending from over 110 Countries and registering over 69,000 content downloads. All congress participants who are not yet members automatically receive an ERA-EDTA membership up to the end of the year. 2,578 abstracts were submitted.
The members are 5,813 (January 1st).
A completely re-drafted Constitution is approved by the G.A. introducing also a strict Code of Conduct for all members.
ERAC (European Renal Association Curatorium) is created (May, 2020).
ERBP changes its goals and no longer produces guidelines but strongly supports commentaries, implementation of guidelines, etc.
The ERA-EDTA HQ undergoes a serious restructuring and Euromeetings srl is closed, instead an officially appointed PCO starts supporting the ERA HQ in the organization of its annual congress. The Society in any case keeps strict control over the main contracts/providers linked to the annual congress.
The e-seminar series are launched.
In 2020 ERA-EDTA two supported/endorsed initiatives received EU funding: NEPHROPATH (Nephrology Pathway) and CONNECT (Cognitive decline in NephroNeurology: European Cooperative Target).
The European Kidney Health Awareness Days (EKHADs) campaign starts (Strong Kidney Campaign).
NDT-Educational becomes the Nephrology Education Portal (NEP) and has a new logo.
Due to the pandemic and thus the difficulty in having face-to-face meetings, by-monthly virtual Council meetings are introduced.
Dr. C. Wanner (Germany) is elected President.
The member type of “patient” and “student” are introduced and there is no charge for the membership, nor the congress registration.
The member type of “mid-term discount” (EUR 80), mid-term junior” (EUR 30) and “mid-term special online discount” (EUR 30) are introduced and there is a reduced charge for the membership. This membership type is activated in mid-year and ends in the Fall before the membership types for the next year are activated.
2021
A major decision is taken regarding the congress registration fees: the registration fee is the same for in person & virtual delegates since the core idea behind this decision is linked to the fact that ERA delivers content and how the delegates “use” it is independent of the content itself. Major discounts for the registration fee for abstract authors are introduced since with their content they contribute to the success of the congress.
Due to the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19 the live component of the congress is cancelled (due to take place in Berlin, Germany, June 5-8) and again is presented in a fully virtual manner with a small studio set up in Berlin for a selected number of sessions (Welcome Ceremony and General Assembly). 5,207 delegates attended this congress from 115 different countries. There were more than 59,600 website visits and 19,268,000 audience on Twitter with 6,200 Tweets. 1,191 abstracts were presented and there were over 21,100 session views.
The members are 6,493.
The Society changes its name and ERA-EDTA becomes ERA, European Renal Association. This implies also a new logo.
The NDT EiC no longer is a member of the Council, thus the ex-officio members become 4 while the ordinary council members 9, leaving the total number of Council members unchanged (= 13).
SAB (Scientific Advisory Board) becomes a fully independent body from the Council allowing more transparency in the evaluation procedure of projects/fellowships, etc.
2022
The annual congress is again held in person, in Paris (France). Mini-Orals are introduced, instead of e-posters. There were 7.427 participants ( 1,492 virtual). 1,402 abstracts have been submitted from 76 countries.
The member type of “caregiver” is introduced and there is no charge for the membership, nor the congress registration.
The members are 6.555 (January 1st).
The first woman EiC for an ERA Journal is elected, Dr. M. Soler (Spain), CKJ EiC.
The Renal Disaster Relief Task Force has been established shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine.
The purchase of the ERA HQ & Educational Hub in Parma.
An agreement with KDIGO and ERA is signed for a closer collaboration regarding guidance in nephrology.
2023
ERA celebrated its 60th anniversary.
The annual congress is held in Milan (Italy). The Focussed Orals are introduced (instead of the Mini-Orals). There were 9,643 participants (815 virtual). 2197 abstracts have been submitted from 86 countries.
For the first time during the Congress, ERA organized four Creative Labs “Learn by practice” sessions offering a wide range of very practical tips for the younger generation of specialists.
The members are 14.399 (January 1st).
The Ukrainian Renal Disaster Relief Task Force (RDRTF), which was created at the beginning of 2022, was transformed into a permanent task force with a new name (Kidney Relief in Disasters). Two new task forces were established in 2023: Sustainable Nephrology and Strong Kidneys.
The Neph-Manual project starts for training in nephrology, this manual is only online and is an exclusive membership benefit.
The General Assembly approved to remove the role of Secretary-Treasurer and to introduce the roles of Secretary General and Treasurer, thus the ex-officio members become 5 while the ordinary council members 8. This novelty will start in 2024. Similarly, the name of the Chair of the Registry was re-instated (instead of the Clinical Nephrology Governance Chair).
The National Society Membership Project becomes effective and, thanks to this, the ERA membership reaches more than 20,000 members.
The category of corporate membership is introduced.
A new NDT Editor-in-Chief is nominated, Prof. H.J. Anders (Germany).