The dream of many of the distinguished Arab nephrologists was to form a society that unites them all. Following a proposal from the late Professor Al Hossaini Al Ghonaimy, there was a preparatory meeting during the Congress of the Egyptian Society of Nephrology that was held in Alexandria, 1986. A committee of ten Arab nephrology Professors was formed. It included Profs. Hassaballah and El Ghonaimy (Egypt), Abu Melha and Al Khedr (Saudi Arabia), Riyad El Said (Jordan) and Idress Zayed (Morocco). Several meetings were held to study the subject from all aspects as well as to formulate the by-laws and regulations of the society. Finally, they were able to reap the fruit of their hard work and a society was declared under the name of the Arab Society of Nephrology and Renal Transplantation (ASNRT). ASNRT was registered at the Arab League and had its own bank account at Bank Misr, Manial University Hospital branch, Cairo, Egypt. The first meeting of the Society was held at Amman, Jordan in 1988 of which Professors Tarek Suheimat and Riyad El Said were in charge. The second meeting was at Cairo, Egypt in 1991 and was held in the largest hall of the Arab League. Thereafter, there were biennial meetings taking place in different countries of the Arab World. During the presidency of Professor Rashad Barsoum, Prof. Aziz Al Matery, who was the President elect, further developed the by-laws of the Society. The by-laws concerned the details about the council, country representatives, election rules and membership. Now, fifteen years after that first meeting, the Society has markedly grown to include more than 800 members. It has held 7 congresses, of which the last two were in collaboration with the International Society of Nephrology (ISN). An ISN CME day has become an integral part of its meetings. Several branches are included, one of which is the Pediatric branch. It was under the presidency of Dr. Essam El Sabban then Dr. Mazen Abu Shabban. Two international pediatric meetings were held; one in Cairo, 1996 and the other in Riyad, 1998. Now, the Pediatric branch has formed a new association called the Pan-Arab Pediatric Nephrology Association (PAPNA). The bulletin of the Society was a breakthrough and several issues were edited, thanks to the great efforts of Prof. Amin Soliman. Thereafter, the bulletin progressed to a scientific periodical named "Kidney Forum". This achievement owed much to the efforts of Profs. Amin Soliman, Rashad Barsoum and Abd El Meguid Al Nahas. The Kidney Forum was published first, in Sheffield where four issues were released. Publication was then transferred to Al Ahram Press, Egypt where two more issues were released. Now, the Kidney Forum got a new name and a new editorial team with Dr. Hassan Abu Aisha appointed as editor-in-chief and became the Arab Journal of Nephrology and Transplantation (AJNT). The last major achievement was the launching of the new ASNRT website. The idea was that of the present Secretary General, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Adel Hassan and together with the immense efforts of the website editors Dr. Wessam Ismail and Prof. Dr. Hesham Safouh, the ASNRT website became a tangible reality. Now, the Society competes on a global level with the different international and regional societies. We shall never forget the efforts of all the past presidents; Professors Hassaballah, Abu Melha, Barsoum, Al Matery, Al Said and we pay tribute to the souls of Al Ghonaimy and Ben Huraib.
About ASNRT
In the fifteen years since its foundation in 1986, the Arab Society of nephrology and renal transplantation (ASNRT) has markedly grown to include more than 2000 members from all the countries in the Arab region.
ASNRT has come a long way from being just a society with the aim of providing a solid link between the various countries in the region to playing an active role in the advancement of nephrology services in the region, through its active involvement with the local nephrology societies.
Through its active scientific division under which the Specialized Committees that hold their regular biannual congresses, the official journal of the society (AJNT) and the website all operate, the society has managed to provide access to both educational and up-to-date material to its members as well as to various scientific and training channels to promote clinical investigation and research.
Now, the ASNRT competes on a global level with the different international and regional societies.