A life-threatening illness that derailed a young man’s plans to study in the United States eventually became the inspiration behind what is now Asia’s largest dialysis network.

NephroPlus, a dialysis care provider that continues to expand in the Philippines, traces its roots to the personal journey of co-founder Kamal D. Shah, who has been a dialysis patient since the age of 21 and has spent nearly three decades navigating kidney disease.

In 1997, Shah was preparing to pursue a master’s degree in the United States when he was diagnosed with Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS), a rare genetic disorder affecting only two to three million people worldwide. The diagnosis forced him to abandon his plans and begin a series of intensive medical treatments, including hemodialysis, plasma exchanges, steroid therapy and blood transfusions.

“How could a young man preparing for graduate school in America suddenly be fighting for survival?” Shah recalled of his first dialysis session. “Fear overtook me as my blood circulated through the machine.”

A kidney transplant from his mother in 1998 initially offered hope, but his disease later recurred in the transplanted organ, forcing him to resume treatment. Faced with a lifetime of dialysis, Shah said he chose to take an active role in managing his condition.

In 1999, he shifted to peritoneal dialysis, a home-based treatment that was uncommon in India at the time. The move helped him regain his strength and return to work. Years later, however, complications caused by a severe infection forced him back to hospital-based hemodialysis.