Children with severe kidney disease often experience great difficulty in living normal lives due to the tremendous impact that their illness has on them and their families. A considerable amount of time is spent on medical care such as frequent consultations, kidney dialysis and transplants. This results in lost education and socialisation for these children. The families struggle with financial constraints due to medical and travel expenses, relationship problems, depression and simply not being able to function as a healthy family unit.

The comprehensive medical care that these children require is provided in the private sector by the Morningside Children’s Kidney Treatment Centre based at Morningside Medi-Clinic, Sandton, South Africa. The centre is the only private provider of kidney treatment for children in Africa. The dedicated staff has recognised that in order to deliver the best care possible, it is imperative to support our patients and their families in non-medical ways such as psychosocial support, educational opportunities, transport and communication grants and accommodation for families from out of the area, or simply for relief care. The Kidney Beanz trust was established to provide the comprehensive support that these unfortunate children and their families need, in order to ensure access to treatment and the chance of a successful treatment outcome.