The Canadian aHUS Network

Connecting Canada’s clinical leaders in atypical HUS

We bring together healthcare professionals and aHUS experts from across Canada to share insights, strengthen referral pathways, standardize care, and improve outcomes for patients, families, and groups who support them.

Contact an expert Access clinical resources

The independent, expert-led Canadian aHUS Network exists to:

Connect

clinical experts and peers in academic and community practice

Find a local aHUS expert

Advocate

for timely diagnosis and coordinated referral pathways across all provinces and territories

Clinical resources

Educate

aHUS care providers through curated, evidence-based resources on aHUS diagnosis and management

Publications HCP education

By fostering collaboration, sharing expertise, and championing coordinated access to care, we aim to support the aHUS health care provider (HCP) community in Canada in their care of patients.

Our Vision

To be recognized as the leading nationwide network group that brings HCPs, patients and aHUS experts together towards a shared management approach to advocate, raise awareness and advance the care and quality of life of patients and families living with aHUS.

Our Mission

To provide an aHUS network that advocates to raise awareness of the disease and identifies referral pathways in all provinces and territories to bring a high standard of clinical practice management, diagnosis and treatment of the disease through expert connections, continuing education and ongoing research.

What is aHUS?

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare, life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) caused by dysregulation of the alternative complement pathway. It typically presents with:^1-3

Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia
Thrombocytopenia
Acute kidney injury, often with extrarenal complications (e.g., stroke, cardiac ischemia, pancreatitis)

The term "complement-mediated TMA" is now favoured to reflect its underlying mechanism.³

aHUS can affect patients of any age, with or without a known family history. Most cases are linked to genetic or acquired defects in complement regulation, including mutations in CFH, CFI, MCP, C3, or the presence of anti-factor H autoantibodies.^4,5

Early recognition and treatment are critical. Delays in diagnosis can have devastating consequences:

Up to 60% of untreated patients progress to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) or die during the initial episode³
Complement directed therapy can reverse TMA and preserve kidney function—but only if started early, ideally within 24 hours of suspicion⁵

All frontline clinicians—including nephrologists, hematologists, emergency physicians, and ICU teams—should be alert to the signs of TMA and prepared to initiate a stepwise differential workup that can identify aHUS.