American Kidney Fund Provided More Than $150,000 to Kidney Patients Impacted by Hurricane Ida

ROCKVILLE, Md. (October 6, 2021)  — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today announced that it provided more than $150,000 in emergency grants to more than 750 low-income dialysis and kidney transplant patients affected by Hurricane Ida. Generous donations from the public and corporate supporters, including Horizon Therapeutics plc and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., made possible the immediate activation of AKF's assistance, the only rapid-response program of its kind serving kidney patients impacted by natural disasters.

The most common way patients used AKF assistance was to pay for lost or spoiled food that they need for the very strict renal diet, followed by temporary housing, transportation to and from dialysis, home repairs and to replace clothing and personal essentials lost due to the disaster or the need to evacuate with short notice.

Disaster relief grants from the American Kidney Fund help kidney patients to cope with the devastating  aftermath of a storm like Hurricane Ida," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. "We are thankful to Horizon, Otsuka and our many other supporters for allowing us to provide this emergency assistance, so vulnerable kidney failure patients could focus on staying as healthy as possible after this storm, particularly as we are still in the midst of a deadly pandemic."

AKF covered 100% of the cost of emergency grant processing and check distribution to ensure that the maximum number of patients could receive desperately needed support. AKF's Disaster Relief Program has been there for kidney patients during every major natural disaster in the past two decades.

Charity Navigator listed AKF as one of the highly rated nonprofits providing Hurricane Ida relief. AKF is one of only three nonprofits in the nation to have received the top 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator for 19 consecutive years — every year the organization has been rating nonprofits — giving donors the confidence that their contributions were used to maximum efficiency.