Informed Consent, Privacy and Confidentiality Statement

1. Informed Consent for Human Subjects

Kidneys requires that all research involving human participants complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, institutional ethical guidelines, and national regulations.

Authors must confirm in the manuscript that:

  • written informed consent was obtained from each participant, or from the parent/guardian for minors

  • identifiable patient information (names, initials, photographs, case details) is not published unless essential for scientific purposes

  • the patient (or guardian) has reviewed the manuscript and consented in writing to publication

  • all identifying details have been removed unless explicit consent has been obtained

If anonymity cannot be guaranteed, informed consent is required.

Authors are responsible for storing signed consent forms for a minimum of three years and must provide them to the journal upon request.

2. Ethical Approval for Human and Animal Studies

Authors must include in the Methods section:

  • the name of the approving Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee

  • the approval number (if applicable)

  • a statement confirming compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (2013 revision)

For animal research, authors must confirm compliance with:

  • institutional animal care guidelines, and

  • national laws regulating animal experimentation

Studies not aligned with ethical standards will be rejected.

3. Privacy and Data Protection

The journal follows strict confidentiality standards:

  • Personal data from patients, study participants, and clinical records may not be shared or published without permission

  • Images must be fully anonymized unless explicit written consent is provided

  • Authors must ensure compliance with data protection laws in their country (GDPR/HIPAA where applicable)

4. Confidentiality in Peer Review

All submissions undergo double-blind peer review.
The journal ensures confidentiality for authors, reviewers, and submitted manuscripts:

  • Reviewers must not disclose, share, or distribute any manuscript content

  • Manuscripts are privileged documents and must not be used for personal research

  • Reviewers must destroy all copies after the review is complete

  • Editors and reviewers may not discuss unpublished manuscripts publicly

  • Editorial communications about manuscript status remain confidential

Breaches of confidentiality are treated as ethical violations.

5. Use of Images, Videos, and Supplementary Materials

If patient images, videos, or clinical materials are included:

  • explicit written consent must be obtained

  • consent must state that the content may appear online and in print

  • authors must confirm that images have not been altered to mislead

  • identifying features must be removed whenever possible