Honorary Members of the Polish Society of Nephrology. Part XXVI — Professor Albert Valek

Abstract

After the publication of a paper describing doctor Irena Marcinek in this year’s first issue of “Forum Nefrologiczne”, an outstanding person but holding administrative functions rather than clinical or sci­entific ones, the time has come for another foreign doctor and scholar from behind our southern bor­der. As you know, in the last issue of the journal in 2018, the authors presented the figure of Professor Miroslav Mydlik from Košice in Slovakia. This paper, however, is an attempt to present Professor Albert Valek, the outstanding Czechoslovak nephrologist. His main clinical interest rested in renal replacement therapy in the form of haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis in cases of acute and chronic renal failure also arising in the course of poisoning. Beyond a doubt, A. Valek was Czechoslovakia’s trailblazer in this field of medicine. He played an active role in various international societies of nephrology, per­forming high functions in them, and organised in­ternationally-recognised congresses of nephrology. He was an outstanding physician and scholar highly appreciated by the international world of nephrology, especially the European one.