Nephrology in Croatia

The Republic of Croatia is a relatively small country with a long tradition in nephrology. In the last 30 years, despite the independence war, significant progress has been made in all branches of nephrology. This progress could be achieved thanks to the great knowledge, enthusiasm, and excellent organizational abilities of individuals, a stable Society for Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, the establishment of the Renal Replacement Therapy National Registry, and well-organized continuous medical education. This has led to important improvement in the treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease by hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Special attention has been paid to cooperation with intensive care physicians in the treatment of complicated patients with acute kidney injury. Good results in nephrology have become the basis for gaining confidence of sociopolitical factors, which has made it possible to conduct a broad social action necessary for development of the national transplant program. Thanks to the noted success in kidney transplantation, as well as of other solid organs, Croatia was admitted to Eurotransplant, further enhancing the transplantation program. Today, thanks to the highly developed awareness of donation and solidarity of our citizens, the quality of transplant teams, and an effective organizational model, Croatia is one of the world’s leading donor and organ-transplanting countries.