
We treat paediatric patients with kidney-related diseases.
The SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is one of the most experienced hospitals in Spain in the treatment of paediatric kidney diseases. At the Nephrology department, we provide a service for patients from all over Catalonia, and to those from other communities asking for a second opinion, swiftly and with a very short waiting list.
We have a track record spanning more than 40 years, endorsed and acknowledged within Spain, and increasingly beyond our borders, from where paediatricians from many countries, particularly from Central and South America, request specialisation visits.
We are co-founders of the Spanish Paediatric Nephrology Society and members from the beginning. We work closely with the Spanish Nephrology Society (SEN) as well in those aspects concerning paediatric pathology.
Accreditations
- RKNet of European centers of expertise in rare kidney diseases.
- ERN TRANSPLANT-CHILD on transplants in children. We have an accreditation.
- CSUR in the specialty of pediatric kidney transplantation and another in complex glomerular diseases.
- XUEC of care for rare and complex kidney diseases created by the Catalan Health Service.
Why SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital?
Specialists from different services and units work in coordination to offer the best care to our patients.
Our multidisciplinary focus
Specialists from different services and units work in coordination to offer the best care to our patients
- We work closely with other specialists from SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital, including with the departments and units of Urology, Neonatology, Nutrition, Psychiatry and Psychology, Rheumatology, Genetics, Laboratory and Diagnostic Imaging.
- 70% of all the children we treat have rare diseases, and we work closely with the Hospital's Institute for Rare Childhood Disorders (IPER).
We adapt our treatments to the needs of the pediatric patient and their family.
Always patient-centred
We adapt our treatments to the needs of the pediatric patient and their family
- We work to minimise the impact of haemodialysis on children's daily lives. Peritoneal dialysis allows treatment to be done at home. Since 2000, we have led the way in paediatric continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in Catalonia.
- We promote living-donor transplantation. A quarter of the transplants we perform are from living donors, thus preventing the child from having to do dialysis.
- We advise and guide paediatricians from other hospitals, which makes us a reference and support centre. We are in continuous contact with other local paediatricians and primary care paediatricians, to prevent our patients from having to travel long distances to our Hospital. Our goal is to be able to treat any condition, however rare and serious, at the patient's local centre by the nearest paediatricians, advised accordingly by us.
- We make every effort to avoid having to admit the child to hospital, except in cases where it is absolutely essential. Our mission is to keep the dynamics of family and school as normal as possible. Many patients with rare, severe and chronic illnesses, after years of the disease, were admitted to Hospital only during diagnosis.
Specialties and services
We detect and treat diseases and malformations of the kidney and the urinary tract (Nefrourology) in the prenatal stage (before birth). We work together with the teams of Neonatology, Obstetrics, Urology and Surgery.
In situations where a kidney transplant can not be performed before a dialysis treatment, we try to use peritoneal dialysis as the first option. Whenever possible, we relegate hemodialysis to those patients who can't undergo peritoneal treatment, or when it is not indicated.
Pathologies we treat
Treatments we offer
Our professionals

Research and clinical trials
We take part in various paediatric studies and trials promoted by the industry or the Spanish Society of Paediatric Nephrology, as well as those of other adult services, particularly Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, with which we have a close relationship in research on kidney transplantation.
Collaborative and multicentre studiesREPIR 2, REPIR 1 and OCATTThese three patient registers, which contain anonymous data, help to assess the status of patients with kidney disease in Spain, methods of dialysis and transplant outcomes: organ donation, events that occurred, duration of graft, rejection, etc. With these results, the National Transplant Organisation can draft the annual public report.
More informationResearch and clinical trialsREPIR 2, REPIR 1 and OCATT
These three patient registers, which contain anonymous data, help to assess the status of patients with kidney disease in Spain, methods of dialysis and transplant outcomes: organ donation, events that occurred, duration of graft, rejection, etc. With these results, the National Transplant Organisation can draft the annual public report.
- EPIR 2: Spanish Register of patients with chronic kidney failure before receiving replacement therapy.
- REPIR 1: National Register of patients on replacement therapy, dialysis and transplantation.
- OCATT: Register of patients with chronic kidney failure in Catalonia.
Genetics and kidney diseaseCystinosis: Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN), AIRG-E, ORPHAN.
Lowe syndrome: CIBERER.
Collaborative studiesTransition to adult hospital, clinical trials, multicentre studies, etc.
We participate in major national conferences: Spanish Association of Paediatric Nephrology, Catalan Society of Neurology, Catalan Society of Paediatrics, Spanish Society of Nephrology, etc.
These three patient registers, which contain anonymous data, help to assess the status of patients with kidney disease in Spain, methods of dialysis and transplant outcomes: organ donation, events that occurred, duration of graft, rejection, etc. With these results, the National Transplant Organisation can draft the annual public report.
REPIR 2, REPIR 1 and OCATT
These three patient registers, which contain anonymous data, help to assess the status of patients with kidney disease in Spain, methods of dialysis and transplant outcomes: organ donation, events that occurred, duration of graft, rejection, etc. With these results, the National Transplant Organisation can draft the annual public report.
- EPIR 2: Spanish Register of patients with chronic kidney failure before receiving replacement therapy.
- REPIR 1: National Register of patients on replacement therapy, dialysis and transplantation.
- OCATT: Register of patients with chronic kidney failure in Catalonia.
Cystinosis: Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN), AIRG-E, ORPHAN.
Lowe syndrome: CIBERER.
Transition to adult hospital, clinical trials, multicentre studies, etc.
We participate in major national conferences: Spanish Association of Paediatric Nephrology, Catalan Society of Neurology, Catalan Society of Paediatrics, Spanish Society of Nephrology, etc.
Teaching
The SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is a university hospital attached to the University of Barcelona. We share our knowledge and train professionals so that they can specialize in highly complex medicine.
Specialist training for resident physicians and medical interns (MIR)
We are a leading centre with rotating residents in Nephrology at adult hospitals: Hospital Clínic (Barcelona), Hospital de Terrassa, Hospital Trueta (Girona).
We are a leading paediatric centre, providing training for paediatric residents for their training cycle in Paediatric Nephrology: Hospital Trueta, Hospital de Manresa, Hospital Virgen de la Cinta (Tortosa), etc.
We are a leading centre for completing training in Paediatric Nephrology at centres in Latin America: Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, etc.
We train our paediatric residents at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital in the specialty of Nephrology. We conduct clinical sessions as part of the teaching plan. We offer the chance to train in Nephrology through implementation of both a short-term and a long-term plan.