[Only few such outstanding physicians lived, whose achievements and personality influenced the development of the Hungarian nephrology as remarkably as professor István Taraba did. He started his university career as an experimental researcher at the Institute of Physiology on Semmelweis University, Budapest, then at the age of 34, after completing his Ph.D thesis, decided to treat patients to utilize his acquired knowledge in the field of renal failure’s pathophysiology. This way he devoted himself to cure patients with kidney failure being in very poor circumstances at that time. Besides his daily clinical activity, he accomplished outstanding organizing work in establishing and leading the Hungarian Nephrology Society, and also in initiating specialty training for nephrologists and nephrology nurses. The hallmark of his professional work was that in spite of extremely adverse circumstances he forced to improve the quality of dialysis treatment to approach European standards. Among the renal replacement treatment modalities- antecedently to his age - he respected peritoneal dialysis equal to hemodialysis, and attempted to popularize it in his country. Under his leadership the Nephrology Department of Margit Hospital in Budapest became the therapeutic and educational centre of Hungarian nephrology. His achievements have been acknowledged internationally, and his early death is substantial loss for Hungarian nephrology as a whole. It was a great honour to me to work beside him during the whole period he spent in the Margit Hospital, and since March of 1997 I have the opportunity to lead the department he had established in his intellectuality.]