Your next step, together.
CKD Next Switzerland is a non-profit association based in Basel — for people living with chronic kidney disease, and for everyone at their side.
Why we exist
Chronic kidney disease doesn't stop. It's there every day — sometimes loud, mostly quiet. From the outside, there's little to see.
A sudden crisis rallies everyone around you. An illness that stays wears people down. Many families know the feeling: slowly finding yourself alone — not because nobody wants to help, but because duration is harder to hold than drama.
And CKD never affects just one person. It reshapes daily life for parents and siblings, partners — for everyone who carries part of the load.
We can't take the illness away from anyone. But we can make the road less lonely.
The transitions
Living with CKD means living in transitions. Each one brings its own questions, its own decisions, its own paperwork: Diagnosis. Dialysis. Preparing for a transplant — and life afterwards. Immunosuppression. Other illnesses that come with it — mental health included. Setbacks nobody planned for. And along the way, again and again, decisions that weigh heavily and take time.
We begin with the transition we know from the inside: from paediatric to adult nephrology. It isn't only the care team that changes — it's the entire logic of care, right in the middle of growing up. The association is deliberately broader in scope — for everyone living with CKD and for everyone who supports them, family and professionals alike. We want to grow step by step.
What we do
Guidance & knowledge
— clear, plain-language information for families in times of transition.
Community
— bringing together people who know what this is like. Regular meet-ups in Basel, starting in 2027.
Public-interest projects
— from plain-language guides for families to collaboration with clinicians and nephrology centres.
Who we are
CKD Next Switzerland was founded in June 2026 by Danielle and Marie-Louise (Marilu) Heer — mother and daughter.
Marilu was diagnosed at 13 and received a transplant that same year. Today she's 19 and runs her life — her studies, her friendships, her plans — with an illness that travels with her every day and is almost invisible from the outside. She manages her own care: the appointments, the medication, the daily decisions. The way adults do. That journey is exactly what this association wants to make easier for others.
Behind her stands a family that carries this with her — each in their own way.
Danielle is a finance professional. Five years in the middle of it — deciphering test results, coordinating appointments, staying on it, speaking up — taught her how much navigation this illness demands, and how rarely anyone takes it off your hands. Today she's at Marilu's side for the big decisions.
In the association, the two are partners. They've remained each other's advocates — and together they want to be that for everyone who lives quietly with CKD.
Become a member
Membership is open to anyone who supports our purpose — individuals and organisations alike. The fee: CHF 20 a year. It's deliberately small. Every membership gives kidney families in Switzerland a louder voice.
or by bank transfer:CH26 0077 0255 9551 2200 1
Verein CKD Next Switzerland, Basel