§ 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.