In June, Sweden is at its best. Beginning with National Day on 6 June and continuing through Midsommar, it is a month of celebrating the traditions, values & culture that define the country.
As we begin celebrating 35 years of Diaverum this year, it is also a fitting moment to reflect on the origins of a global company proudly rooted in Sweden - and on how those origins are guiding us into the future as part of the M42 group.
Where innovation met humanity
Diaverum emerged from a uniquely Swedish environment where medical progress was closely connected to real patient need. That legacy reaches further back still; in the 1940s, Professor Nils Alwall at Lund University developed the first practical dialysis machine, helping establish Sweden as the birthplace of dialysis as a treatment option. In 1946, his machine was used in the first successful long-term treatment of a patient with kidney failure. Sweden’s renal legacy later continued through Gambro, which helped make dialysis technology more scalable globally, and through Diaverum, whose first clinic opened in Lund in 1991. What began as a breakthrough in medical engineering evolved into something broader: a model of renal care centred on consistency, quality, patient empowerment and life beyond treatment.
The Swedish model of care and innovation
Sweden has long been recognised for its contribution to medicine and life sciences - from the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, to Karolinska University Hospital, consistently ranked among the world’s best hospitals, and leading research environments in Lund, Uppsala and beyond. But Swedish healthcare innovation has never been driven by research institutions alone. For decades, healthcare progress has been built through close collaboration between academia, public institutions and industry, helping translate scientific discovery into practical, human-centred innovation.
From Sweden to the world
Today, the Swedish philosophy that shaped Diaverum’s beginnings continues to underpin how we deliver renal care across the 25 countries where we are present. Through a care delivery model built on clinical standards, education, research, performance measurement and digital tools, Diaverum brings together global quality, local relevance, clinical governance and patient-centred practice. This thread of Swedishness does not make us different because of where we come from alone. It differentiates us precisely because it informs how we work: with discipline, consistency, evidence, respect for local healthcare needs and a belief that care must enhance lives, not only treat disease.
Care beyond treatment
Dialysis is not a single intervention or occasional hospital visit. It is care built over years, sometimes decades, dependent on trust, continuity and long-term relationships between patients and caregivers. Sweden’s contribution to renal care was therefore never only technological. It was also philosophical: the belief that patients should not merely survive treatment, but continue living fully through it.
That same philosophy continues to guide Diaverum today. It is reflected in our True care culture and in the way we deliver care: seeing the person beyond the diagnosis, supporting quality of life alongside clinical outcomes, supporting patient mobility through d.HOLIDAY, and advancing digital and connected models of care.
Shaping the future of renal care
Healthcare is now entering a new era. Artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, precision medicine and connected care are reshaping what is possible in renal medicine. Renal care - with its long-term, data-rich and highly personalised nature - is uniquely positioned to benefit from these advances.
As part of M42, Diaverum is now poised to carry this legacy into the future. The future of renal care will increasingly depend on our ability to predict complications earlier, personalise treatment pathways, connect data more intelligently and support patients beyond the clinic walls.
This is where Diaverum’s heritage and M42’s capabilities become especially powerful together: combining advanced technology with care that is fundamentally human.
Perhaps this is where Sweden’s healthcare legacy remains most relevant. Its contribution has never been innovation for innovation’s sake, but innovation grounded in trust, equality, evidence and dignity. For Diaverum, those Swedish roots are not simply where our story began. They continue to shape how we think about quality, innovation and patient care today - and how we will continue to evolve in the future.
Michaela Blomstrand
Global Patient Experience & Stakeholder Management Director