§ 2710. Legislative findings and purposes. It is hereby declared and found that one of the major problems facing medicine and the public health and welfare is the lack of trained individuals, available facilities, research and equipment for the discovery, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and cure of kidney disease. It is estimated that more than two thousand people die in New York state each year from kidney failure. No parallel situation in medicine exists today where techniques have been developed for the diagnosis and prevention of disease which would save lives, yet at the same time people continue to progress to chronic kidney disease and death only for the lack of facilities for diagnosis and treatment. New York state must take the initiative to combat this indiscriminate and often needless killer. Basic research is needed into the nature of diseases of the kidneys and the problems of kidney transplantation; in developing mass testing procedures for the early detection of kidney disease; and for the development of more effective and economical devices for blood purification. An intensive survey of state-wide needs and facilities is necessary to formulate a long-range program for the state.

It is imperative that a comprehensive program to combat kidney disease be implemented through the combined and correlated efforts of state and local governments, medicine, universities, non-profit organizations and individuals. The program provided by this article is designed to bring to bear all the possible resources of the state and to coordinate the efforts of the state in this vital matter of public health.