Dear Editor,

Monday is a special birthday. The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) was founded on November 15, 1950 by the parents of a toddler stricken with what was then called nephrosis. It was incurable. In 1950 if your kidneys failed, you died. NKF was there in the early days to support patients and their families.

Over the past sixty years, there has been a revolution in treatment and detection. Kidney failure became treatable with the advent of the first successful kidney transplant in 1954. This was followed by the invention of the Teflon shunt in 1964 that made access to a patient’s blood possible and dialysis that performs the kidney’s job of cleaning the blood became routine. Today, 565,000 Americans with kidney failure live, work, and enjoy life because of these life-saving treatments.

Scientists have learned that kidney disease is progressive so detection and medical intervention can start early, well before kidneys fail. 26 million people, many with diabetes or high blood pressure, have kidney disease. The NKF now educates about kidney health and provides free screenings for thousands at risk for kidney disease through our Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP).

So celebrate the foundation’s birthday. "Love Your Kidneys" by getting checked for kidney disease and donating at kidney.org/60 to help the lifesaving work continue.

Sincerely,

Amy Capistran
Living Kidney Donor
Richmond, VA