American Kidney Fund Inc

WE HELP PEOPLE FIGHT KIDNEY DISEASE AND LIVE HEALTHIER LIVES.

PATIENT ASSISTANCE:IN 2022, WE HELPED MORE THAN 73,000 LOW-INCOME KIDNEY FAILURE PATIENTS IN ALL 50 STATES GAIN ACCESS TO LIFESAVING HEALTHCARE, INCLUDING DIALYSIS AND TRANSPLANT, BY PROVIDING NEED-BASED GRANTS TO PAY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS, TRANSPORTATION TO TREATMENT, PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS AND NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS, AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF NATURAL DISASTERS. WITH AKF'S SUPPORT FOR HEALTH COVERAGE THEY OTHERWISE COULD NOT AFFORD, NEARLY 1,800 DIALYSIS PATIENTS HAD LIFESAVING KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS AND POST-TRANSPLANT CARE, REPRESENTING NEARLY 7% OF ALL U.S. KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS PERFORMED IN 2022. WE PROVIDED NEARLY 2,500 DIALYSIS PATIENTS DISASTER RELIEF ASSISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANES, FLOODS, AND WILDFIRES. PATIENTS SEEKING HELP FROM AKF MUST DEMONSTRATE FINANCIAL NEED THROUGH COMPLETION OF A GRANT APPLICATION. ON AVERAGE, OUR GRANT RECIPIENTS HAVE TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOMES LESS THAN $25,000 PER YEAR.

PUBLIC EDUCATION, AWARENESS AND PREVENTION ACTIVITIES:AWARENESS AND PREVENTION37 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), AND MOST DON'T REALIZE THEY HAVE IT. AKF'S EDUCATION PROGRAMS HELP INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFY THEIR RISKS FOR CKD AND MANAGE CKD, KIDNEY FAILURE AND CO-MORBIDITIES. WE REACHED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN 2022 WITH AWARENESS AND PREVENTION INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE. A HALLMARK OF THIS WORK WAS OUR THIRD ANNUAL KIDNEY ACTION WEEK, HELD FROM JUNE 6-10, 2022. THE VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL EVENT WAS STREAMED THROUGH A DIGITAL CONFERENCE PLATFORM AND SIMULCASTED THROUGH AKF'S FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE SOCIAL CHANNELS. MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE PREREGISTERED FOR THE EVENT, WITH MORE THAN 8,500 VIEWING THE LIVE SESSIONS THROUGH ALL CHANNELS. THE ARCHIVED VIEWS OF THE KIDNEY ACTION WEEK SESSIONS HAVE BEEN VIEWED NEARLY 44,000 TIMES. PUBLIC EDUCATIONWE CONTINUALLY ENHANCE OUR EDUCATION CONTENT AND OFFERINGS. IN 2022, WE LAUNCHED A COMPLETELY REDESIGNED VERSION OF OUR WEBSITE, KIDNEYFUND.ORG. WE INVESTED SIGNIFICANT EFFORT INTO MAKING THE SITE MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR OUR VISITORS, WITH RICHER HEALTH EDUCATION CONTENT. THE SITE HAD MORE THAN 14 MILLION PAGEVIEWS AS WE CONTINUED TO ADD NEW CONTENT, INCLUDING EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT COPING WITH THE PANDEMIC; OUR KIDNEY KITCHEN RESOURCE FEATURING IN-DEPTH DIET AND NUTRITION INFORMATION; AND EXPANDED INFORMATION ON ANEMIA, GOUT, LUPUS, RARE DISEASES AND MANY OTHER TOPICS. WE ALSO PUBLISHED MANY ADDITIONAL PAGES FOR OUR SPANISH-LANGUAGE WEBSITE. WE CONTINUED TO RUN AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS WHICH FOCUS ON MANAGING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF KIDNEY DISEASE AND ITS CO-MORBIDITIES. WE ALSO CONTINUED TO PROVIDE OUR KIDNEY HEALTH COACH PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM. FOR CHILDREN, LIVING WITH KIDNEY DISEASE IS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING. WE PROVIDE A NATIONWIDE ART CONTEST FOR PEDIATRIC KIDNEY PATIENTS, GIVING THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR ARTISTIC TALENTS. THIRTEEN DRAWINGS WERE CHOSEN FOR THE CALENDAR AND WE RECOGNIZED THE WINNING COVER ARTIST AT OUR GALA, THE HOPE AFFAIR, IN WASHINGTON, DC. ENGAGING PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS AROUND ADVOCACY ISSUES IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT INITIATIVE. WE HELD A VIRTUAL FLY-IN AS WELL AS A CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON HEALTH DISPARITIES. AKF IS A STRONG AND INDEPENDENT VOICE ADVOCATING FOR POLICIES THAT IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE AND STRENGTHEN THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH KIDNEY DISEASE. WE WORK WITH CONGRESS, THE ADMINISTRATION, FEDERAL AGENCIES, AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO ADVANCE LEGISLATION AND REGULATORY POLICIES IMPORTANT TO KIDNEY PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. WE PUBLISHED OUR SECOND ANNUAL "STATE OF THE STATES: LIVING DONOR PROTECTION REPORT CARD," WHICH HOLDS EACH STATE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE LAWS IT HAS IN PLACE TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO BE LIVING KIDNEY DONORS.PROFESSIONAL EDUCATIONAKF DEVELOPS COURSES THAT ARE PROVIDED ONLINE AND MEET THE CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PROFESSIONALS WHO TREAT KIDNEY PATIENTS. IN 2022, WE REGISTERED MORE THAN 11,000 COURSES COMPLETED BY SOCIAL WORKERS, DIALYSIS TECHNICIANS, DIETITIANS, HEALTH EDUCATORS AND OTHER RENAL CARE PROFESSIONALS. THE GROWTH IN THIS AREA WAS DUE TO THE CREATION OF TWO NEW ACCREDITED COURSES ON EARLY CKD DIAGNOSIS AND ANEMIA , AS WELL AS THREE A NEW NON-ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL WEBINAR COURSES ON APOL-1, GOUT AND FABRY DISEASE.

RESEARCH:ESTABLISHED IN 1988, AKF'S CLINICAL SCIENTIST IN NEPHROLOGY PROGRAM HAS PROVIDED RESEARCH FUNDING TO MANY OF NEPHROLOGY'S BRIGHTEST SCHOLARS. MANY FORMER CSN FELLOWS HAVE GONE ON TO DISTINGUISHED CAREERS IN THE FIELD, CONDUCTING GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES KNOWLEDGE AND TREATMENT OF KIDNEY DISEASE. IN 2022, AKF SELECTED TWO NEW FELLOWS: DR. JANEWIT WONGBOOSIN FROM BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL AND DR. JILLIAN CALDWELL FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. DR. WONGBOOSIN WILL STUDY THE GENETIC SIGNATURES OF NEPHROTIC SYNDROME THROUGH AN EXISTING ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD-LINKED BIOBANK OF 130,000 PARTICIPANTS. DR. CALDWELL WILL EXAMINE THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN IMMUNOLOGIC MATCHING IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANTS AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO TRANSPLANTATION.AKF TOOK MAJOR STEPS IN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF UNKNOWN CAUSES OF KIDNEY DISEASE (UCKD) BY IMPLEMENTING ASPECTS OF AKF'S UCKD ROADMAP. THESE INCLUDED CONDUCTING A WIDE-RANGING SURVEY OF 300 HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, CREATING A CME COURSE AND THE CREATION OF A UCKD COALITION FOCUSED ON LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY EFFORTS. THE SURVEY DATA WAS PRESENTED AT TWO NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND AKF ALSO CONVENED A VIRTUAL SUMMIT OF ITS UCKD WORKGROUPS IN DECEMBER.