The American Kidney Fund (AKF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1971.
In 2010 the American Kidney Fund provided more than $200 million in treatment-related financial assistance to more than 101,000 dialysis patients nationwide.
Patients receive help from the American Kidney Fund for various expenses related to their dialysis treatment. In 2010, more than 70,000 dialysis patients received help from the American Kidney Fund to pay their health insurance premiums. Another 31,000 received assistance with other expenses that insurance would not cover, such as the cost of transportation to dialysis.
The organization publishes a number of educational brochures about kidney health and maintains a toll-free HelpLine for the public, (866) 300-2900. In Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C., the American Kidney Fund offers free kidney screenings to the public through its Minority Intervention and Kidney Education program.
The American Kidney Fund offers professional education programs, including local conferences for renal professionals, and onlines course for primary care practitioners, "Identifying Chronic Kidney Disease and Slowing Its Progression" and "Weighing the Outcomes: Ethical Issues in Kidney Disease."
The American Kidney Fund is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and has regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and Long Island, New York.