1975 to 1984--an important decade for peritoneal dialysis: memories with personal anecdotes

That decade, 1975 to 1984, saw many important events in the history of PD, including (1) the beginnings of CAPD; (2) the performance in Canada of CAPD with solutions in bags; (3) the First International Peritoneal Dialysis Symposium, in Mexico, preceding all the symposia and congresses to follow; (4) the approval of solutions in bags and CAPD Medicare reimbursement in the USA; (5) the start of the NIH CAPD Registry, probably setting the groundwork for the USRDS; (6) the First Annual CAPD Conference, beginning 23 years of consecutive conferences; (7) the start of the Peritoneal Dialysis Bulletin, which later became Peritoneal Dialysis International; and (8) the formation of the ISPD. One hopes those caring for patients on chronic PD will remember the ideas and hopes of this period and build on them into the distant future. In my opinion, the new ideas, the clinical and laboratory studies, and the experiences shared during this exciting time not only advanced PD and its results, but also had a positive impact on our understanding of uremia and improved the quality of care and results obtained with all renal replacement therapies.