American Kidney Fund to Provide Tools and Resources for Kidney Community During Third Annual Virtual Kidney Action Week, June 6-10

ROCKVILLE, Md. (June 2, 2022)  — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) will host its third annual Kidney Action Week starting June 6, providing information, tools and resources to prevent, detect and manage kidney disease during this free, five-day nationwide virtual event.

Nine out of 10 people with the early stages of kidney disease are unaware they have it, and half of those with severely reduced kidney function (but not yet on dialysis) do not know they have the disease. Education and awareness activities like Kidney Action Week are crucial to the public's understanding and awareness of kidney disease. This year, AKF is offering more than 30 sessions, more than twice as many as last year, with topics covering all aspects of kidney health including kidney disease prevention, dialysis and transplantation, kidney disease management and nutrition.

"Kidney disease is the fastest-growing noncontagious disease in the United States, with 37 million Americans living with kidney disease," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. "Between 2009 and 2019, the number of people living with kidney failure increased by more than 40%, and that trajectory is predicted to continue over the next 10 years. During this year's Kidney Action Week, our Congressional briefing will focus on this alarming trend and what we can do to address this national health crisis."

Although rates continue to rise, the good news is prevention and early detection of kidney disease can save lives. When caught and treated early, it is often possible to slow or stop the progression of kidney disease and avoid serious complications like heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and death. Through events like Kidney Action Week, AKF will encourage people to understand the importance of kidney health and learn how to navigate kidney disease.

Each day of Kidney Action Week will feature multiple, hour-long educational sessions, including live broadcasts during which participants can ask questions of top nephrologists, renal dietitians, caregivers and other kidney experts. Kidney Action Week highlights include:

Monday, June 6

• Clinical Trials: Why Your Participation Makes a Difference – 4 p.m. ET

Tuesday, June 7

• Ask the "Cooking Doc": Q & A with Nephrologist Dr. Blake Shusterman – 11:30 a.m. ET
• Congressional briefing, The Crisis in Kidney Disease, featuring U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Dr. Dora Hughes, Chief Medical Officer at the CMS Innovation Center, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and AKF Ambassador Patrick Gee – 1 p.m. ET
• Veterans Health Administration (VHA) & American Kidney Fund Coffee Chat, featuring Dr. Erica Scavella, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer, VHA – 5:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday, June 8

• Kidney Transplant – Navigating the Waitlist – 11:30 a.m. ET
• We All Should Care About APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease – 4 p.m. ET

Thursday, June 9

• Health Insurance and the Impact of Kidney Disease on Finances – 11:30 a.m. ET
• COVID-19: Returning to Normal for the Immunocompromised – 1 p.m. ET

Friday, June 10

• Understanding IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) – 1 p.m. ET
• My Journey Living with Kidney Disease: Patient Perspectives – 4 p.m. ET

For the full Kidney Action Week schedule of events, additional details and registration information, visit KidneyActionWeek.org.

Kidney Action Week is part of AKF's Know Your Kidneys™ kidney disease education and prevention program. In 2020, AKF transformed its signature community kidney disease prevention event, Kidney Action Day, into Kidney Action Week. Kidney Action Week 2020 was a first-of-its-kind event in the COVID-19 era, focusing on kidney health and kidney disease awareness and prevention for at-risk individuals across the country.

AKF is grateful for the generous support of Kidney Action Week Presenting sponsors Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly and U.S. Renal Care as well as Calliditas Therapeutics, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and session sponsors Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca and Satellite Healthcare.