The Czech Society of Nephrology (CSN) is a successor of the former Czechoslovak Society of Nephrology which was founded in 1958.  Its first president was Jan Brod, one of the founders of the International Society of Nephrology. 

CSN connects more than 400 member s working in 101 dialysis units, 7 transplant centers, several university and many regional hospitals and outpatient units.

Since 2002, the official journal of the CSN is Kidney and Blood Pressure Research.

Nephrology has a long tradition in the Czech Republic. The first acute dialysis was performed in 1955, a chronic dialysis programme started in the early 60ies, and a transplantation programme in 1966. This was reflected by many important international meetings held in Prague: The 2nd Congress of the International Society of Nephrology (1963), 17th Congress of the European Dialysis and Transplantation Association (1980) and the 15th Congress of the European Society of Artificial Organs (1988). More recently, the 17th and 25th meetings of the International Society of Blood Purification (1999 and 2007), 11th ANCA and Vasculitis Workshop (2003), 7th European Peritoneal Dialysis Meeting (2005), 13th Congress of the European Society of Organ Transplantation (2007) and finally, the 48th Congress of ERA-EDTA (2011).

In the Czech Republic there are currently 908 patients per million of the population on renal replacement treatment, 548 pmp are treated by regular dialysis treatment (8% of them on peritoneal dialysis), and 359 pmp are living with transplanted kidneys.

CSN provides a broad spectrum of different activities, co-organizing (since 1998) annually ERA-EDTA Postgraduate Training Courses, national congresses on a biannual basis (the last, 35th congress, in 2010), educational symposia and scientific meetings. CSN also takes part in regular trilateral Czech-German-Polish Symposia (with a Young Investigator Forum).

CSN is also in charge of several national renal registries: The Czech Registry of Renal Biopsies (since 1994), Registry of Dialyzed Patients (since 2006), Registry of Patients with CKD4 (since 2010) and Registry of Patients with ANCA Associated Vasculitis (since 2010).

Professor Vladimír Tesař, MD, PhD, FASN
President of the Czech Society of Nephrology (2010–2012)