American Kidney Fund Receives Support from Bayer to Expand Kidney Disease Education Among U.S. Veterans
ROCKVILLE, MD
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May 27, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today announced support from Bayer for AKF’s effort to educate military veterans about the central role their kidneys play in their overall health and the importance of early detection to prevent or slow the progression of kidney disease. Bayer’s collaboration supports AKF’s existing partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration to increase awareness of kidney disease among U.S. veterans and to support veterans who have been diagnosed with kidney disease.
“About 500,000 U.S. veterans have kidney disease, and that number continues to trend upward by 6% each year, as it has for the past five years,” said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF president and CEO. “We are grateful for Bayer’s support of our work to reach out to veterans—a population that faces higher rates of kidney disease compared to the general public.”
"A major risk factor for chronic kidney disease is type 2 diabetes and many veterans living with type 2 diabetes do not realize they are at risk," said Amit Sharma, M.D., FACP, FASN, FNKF, Vice President of Medical Affairs, Cardiovascular & Renal Division, Bayer. “Bayer is proud to support AKF’s work to educate America’s veterans on kidney disease risk factors, early detection and disease management, to help all veterans living with kidney disease live healthier lives.”
Kidney disease is the fastest growing noncommunicable disease in the U.S., yet 90% of Americans, including veterans, with the early stages of kidney disease are unaware they have it because there are typically no symptoms until the later stages. Diabetes and hypertension cause 75% of all new cases of kidney disease.
About the American Kidney Fund
The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nation’s leading kidney nonprofit. AKF works on behalf of the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease—from prevention through transplant. With programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy, no kidney organization impacts more lives than AKF. AKF is one of the nation’s top-rated nonprofits, investing 97 cents of every donated dollar in programs, and holds the highest 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator and the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.
For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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