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

ROCKVILLE, Md. (Sept. 12, 2023) — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) has partnered with Home Dialyzors United, a nonprofit advocating on behalf of the home dialyzor community, to host the second annual Dialysis at Home summit on Sept. 14. Participants in this free, online event will hear from patients, home dialysis advocates, care partners and health professionals about home dialysis options, quality of life benefits and achieving goals while on dialysis.

The one-day summit is aimed at anyone seeking to learn more about home dialysis, including people who are currently on dialysis, people who are preparing to begin dialysis, people managing late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD), family members and friends who serve as caregivers and medical 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 independence and a greater ability to work, travel or take part in other activities without having to schedule dialysis appointments at a center. Home dialysis can also result in better quality of life, lower risk of infection, expanded diet choices and more employment options.

Increasing awareness and use of home dialysis is a key pillar of AKF's Kidney Health for All initiative, which focuses on improving health equity in kidney disease, particularly for people from racial and ethnic minority groups who are most disproportionately affected by kidney failure. According to the United States Renal Data System (USRDS), usage of home dialysis is low, although the percentage of patients performing home dialysis increased from 9.1% in 2010 to 13.7% in 2020. White and Asian dialysis patients perform home dialysis at a higher rate than Black and Hispanic patients do, in part due to differences in socioeconomic conditions, the USRDS reports.

"AKF is proud to partner with Home Dialyzors United for the second time to host this important event. While awareness and usage of home dialysis is growing, there is still a lot of ground we need to make up to ensure that everyone who wants to utilize it can do so," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. "The Dialysis at Home summit will help give people the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions about their kidney treatment options, as well as enable them to connect with other people in the kidney community who know what they are going through."

The summit will be hosted by David Rush, a home dialysis advocate and platinum-selling recording artist who took his home hemodialysis machine with him on a 40-city world tour in 2009.  Speakers at the summit will include medical experts, patients, community leaders and more. They will answer common questions from members of the kidney community and discuss a variety of topics such as the basics of receiving dialysis at home, examining personal priorities while on dialysis, home dialysis options and making home treatment work, how to self-advocate and advocate for loved ones and health equity issues affecting patient care. Each interactive session will help participants engage with the material and offer tools or resources to put what's discussed in the lesson into action.

The summit is made possible in part by Leading Sponsor Outset Medical (sponsoring the panel "It Takes a Village: Being Successful at Home") and Exhibit Sponsors Ardelyx Inc., AstraZeneca, Baxter International Inc., NxStage Medical Inc., TNT Moborg International Ltd and U.S. Renal Care. 

"Home Dialyzors United is thrilled to join forces once again with the American Kidney Fund for our second annual Dialysis at Home virtual event," said Nieltje Gedney, Executive Director of Home Dialyzors United. "Last year, we drew over 500 live attendees for a 6-hour program that informed, engaged and inspired patients, care partners and clinicians alike about home dialysis options and the keys to success when owning your own care. This year, we're building on that success, introducing new topics, interactive sessions, additional expert speakers and an all-star line-up of patient advocates."

More than 800,000 people in the U.S. have kidney failure, about 562,000 of whom are on dialysis. Home dialysis options include peritoneal dialysis, conventional home hemodialysis, nocturnal home hemodialysis and short daily home hemodialysis.