Failure is not an option.

That’s the slogan for the Kidney Foundation’s Kidney March which was supposed to begin in Kananaskis, Alberta and end up in Calgary for a 100 kilometre trek. Because of the global pandemic, like many other events, the fundraiser became a virtual one.

A renal social worker from Saskatoon is taking part for the first time. Tricia Hutton says she has learned first-hand the toll that kidney disease can take on patients and families.
Last year, the Kidney March raised over $1.4-million for the Kidney Foundation of Canada, which supports kidney disease prevention, information and resource sharing, organ donation initiatives, research, and emergency funding for clients. Hutton says she and her family began walking the 100 kilometres last month, and Sunday is the deadline to get the full walk in. She says it has been a good way to connect with family and see some of the sights of Saskatoon, especially by the river.

The Kidney Foundation says kidney disease is irreversible, and each year it kills thousands of Canadians.
1 in 10 Canadians has the disease and 78 per cent of those waiting for an organ transplant are waiting for a kidney.