Washington, DC (March 12, 2008) — The American Society of Nephrology (ASN), in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and The American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN), will celebrate the third annual World Kidney Day Thursday, March 13. Physicians and patient advocates from across the nation will hold meetings with members of Congress and their staff to raise awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) as a growing public health problem and to advocate for increased funding for research.
Approximately 26 million adult Americans have some evidence of CKD and are at risk to develop kidney failure. Another 20 million are at risk for developing the disease, and most people will lose more than half of their kidney function before realizing they have a problem. Approximately 485,000 adult Americans have been diagnosed with kidney failure and require ongoing, expensive, and life-altering treatments – such as frequent dialysis treatments or kidney transplantation – to stay alive. The annual cost of treating kidney failure, also known as End Stage Renal Disease (or ESRD), is more than $32 billion.
“As the United States population ages, the number of people with kidney disease and the costs of treatment will continue to grow,” said ASN’s President, Peter Aronson, MD, recently. “The federal government must act quickly to fund research for earlier detection and more cost-effective treatments.”
In conjunction with World Kidney Day, ASN and NKF will hold a World Kidney Day Congressional Reception Wednesday, March 12, with special guest, Washington Redskins Guard Randy Thomas. In addition to members of Congress and their staff, the invitation list for the reception includes other government officials, policymakers, members of the Kidney Care Partners coalition, "People Like Us" patient advocates, and representatives from ASN, NKF, and ASPN.
World Kidney Day provides a platform for raising awareness about kidney disease among government health officials, physicians, allied health professionals, and other individuals across the globe; advocating for early detection and prevention of kidney disease in all countries; and recognizing the many billions of dollars spent on research and treatment of renal disease. World Kidney Day is observed yearly on the second Thursday of March worldwide.
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is a not-for-profit organization of 11,000 physicians and scientists dedicated to the study of nephrology and committed to providing a forum for the promulgation of information regarding the latest research and clinical findings on kidney diseases. ASN publishes the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), and the Nephrology Self-Assessment Program (NephSAP).