As the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) prepares for a new chief executive officer come Nov. 1, one of its main tasks is to ramp up efforts to serve the rising number of kidney patients.

However, incoming chief Edmund Kwok, 55, will need to help put the organisation's controversial past behind.

Kwok is currently the chief operating officer. He will take over the chief executive position from Eunice Tay, who headed the organisation since 2006, following the T.T. Durai scandal.

The 2005 scandal was sparked when then-CEO Durai launched a defamation suit against Singapore Press Holdings, which he later dropped it. The suit had exposed his lavish lifestyle.

The decision to go back to televised donation drives to raise funds is partly due to the NKF recording a $5.1 million deficit in its last financial year in 2012.

Fund raising halted

When Tay took over following the scandal in 2006, she had to cut operating costs and improve transparency.

NKF's donor base shrunk from 280,000 at its peak to about 157,000 now.

While it used to raise $64 million a year before the scandal, fund raising efforts were ceased until 2011.

Following public outcry, NKF canned its televised glitzy fund-raising events, which used to raise more than $10 million each time.

NKF then relied on its $259.7 million reserve from 2006 until 2011, where fund raising was resumed.

It has collected $20 million annually since, but it is not enough to sustain the organisation's programmes and plans.

More funds are needed in the coming years as four new patients are diagnosed with kidney disease each day -- compared to three a day in 2006.

This has prompted NKF to build four more dialysis centres in the next two to three years.

A national kidney centre might also be in the works to coordinate efforts in kidney education, training and research.

NKF revealed that they would have to change tack if they were to raise money on television again.

They are contemplating weaving patient stories into drama serials, instead of getting local artistes to perform elaborate acts to request the public to donate.

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