American Kidney Fund, Home Dialyzors United Partner to Host Dialysis at Home Summit

ROCKVILLE, Md. (Sept. 13, 2022) — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) has partnered with Home Dialyzors United, a nonprofit advocating on behalf of the home dialyzor community, to host Dialysis at Home, a virtual free summit on Sept. 15 that will bring the late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and dialysis communities together for a series of sessions about home dialysis. Participants will hear from and learn with patients, advocates, caregivers and health professionals about home dialysis options, quality of life benefits and ways to achieve goals while on dialysis. The summit is made possible in part by Leadership Sponsors Satellite Healthcare and Outset Medical.

The one-day summit, which has more than 1,200 registrants, is designed for anyone seeking to learn more about home dialysis, including people who are new to dialysis and their families, people managing late-stage CKD and providers who are looking to help their patients better understand the pros and cons of different dialysis types. One of the main benefits of home dialysis is that it gives people with kidney failure more freedom to work, travel or do other activities without worrying about scheduling dialysis appointments at a center. Home dialysis can also result in better quality of life, lower risk of infection, expanded diet and more employment options.

Speakers at the summit will cover various topics related to home dialysis, including the basics of receiving dialysis at home, treatments, self-advocacy tactics for patients exploring the home option and health equity issues affecting patient care. The summit will feature interactive sessions to help participants engage with the material.

Additional support for the summit is being provided by Baxter, Diality, NxStage and U.S. Renal Care.

"While home dialysis is growing in popularity, it is still widely underused, with just over 12 percent of all dialysis patients dialyzing at home," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. "Black and Latino patients are even less likely than their white peers to utilize home dialysis, in part due to a lack of awareness. The Dialysis at Home summit will be a great learning opportunity for anyone looking to evaluate their kidney treatment options, as well as a chance to connect and network with people who are facing the same decisions and challenges. We're proud to partner with Home Dialyzors United on this important event, and we look forward to welcoming people at the virtual summit."

More than 800,000 people in the U.S. have kidney failure, nearly 570,000 of whom are on dialysis. By the end of 2017, there were more than 62,000 U.S. patients dialyzing at home.

"Home Dialyzors United has been advocating about the benefits of home dialysis since 2006," said Nieltje Gedney, Executive Director of Home Dialyzors United. "We are thrilled that it has finally gained credence within the renal community. As long-time supporters of the American Kidney Fund, we are delighted to be collaborating with them on this event."

"Increasing awareness and education of the benefits of dialyzing at home is imperative to greater adoption of the treatment option. Satellite Healthcare's Home Therapies program, led by Graham Abra, M.D., and his team, is a national leader demonstrating a greater than 20% utilization of home therapies across our patient population. We are pleased to be a part of this virtual event, which brings together like-minded partners and creates access to information and available technology that hopefully creates a path for patients and physicians," said Jeff Goffman, Chief Executive Officer, Satellite Healthcare.  

"At Outset, we are focused on democratizing dialysis by expanding where and when patients can dialyze by meeting them where they are — at home — on their own schedule," said Leslie Trigg, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Outset. "The Dialysis at Home summit is helping to do exactly that by spreading knowledge about home dialysis options to kidney disease patients and their families across the country. The event's programming will include several people sharing their experiences treating on the Tablo Hemodialysis System, which was designed to make it easier and more accessible for patients to take advantage of the safety, convenience and flexibility of dialyzing at home."