The American Kidney Fund (AKF) and Food & Friends, Inc. have partnered to provide essential support for individuals living with kidney disease in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Through this collaboration, AKF will offer valuable resources such as financial assistance for health care expenses, including transportation to dialysis and medications, as well as educational materials on kidney health. AKF will also connect patients with support programs, like the AKF Safety Net Grant Program. Together with Food & Friends' home-delivered, medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling, AKF is committed to helping patients manage their kidney disease and live healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Our Safety Net Grant Program provides grants to help people with health care expenses that are not covered by insurance. Typical expenses include the cost of food, transportation to and from dialysis, medication and medical supplies and co-payments.
If you have kidney failure but are unable to afford the cost of your health insurance premiums, the American Kidney Fund's HIPP may be able to help you pay for your premiums through grants.
The American Kidney Fund's Living Donor Assistance Program seeks to increase access to living kidney donations by reimbursing out-of-pocket costs for current and potential living kidney donors. The program launched in the Washington Metropolitan area in October 2024.
Know Your Kidneys provides people at risk for kidney disease and those living with kidney disease with comprehensive, interactive resources to support them through the entire kidney disease journey – from prevention to post-transplant.
Kidney Health Coach is the American Kidney Fund's free, community health education program. The program equips coaches with the knowledge and tools to educate their community about preventing and managing kidney disease. Become a Kidney Health Coach today.
Kidney Action Week is a free, online conference that provides education about about dialysis, kidney disease prevention, kidney-friendly eating, transplant and innovations in kidney disease. It is held every March as a way to highlight Kidney Month. Sessions like this one provide information about chronic kidney disease to help patients learn and understand more about their disease.
People of all races and backgrounds get kidney disease, but Black and Hispanic people are more likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure, the top two causes of kidney disease—and more likely to develop kidney failure. But kidney failure is often preventable. Talk to your doctor. Get your kidneys checked.
The American Kidney Fund's Dialysis at Home event is a free, virtual gathering that brings together the late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and dialysis communities for a series of sessions all about home dialysis. Patients, advocates, care partners, and health professionals discuss options for home dialysis, benefits to improve quality of life, and practical ways to reach your goals while on dialysis.
The American Kidney Fund has a wealth of resources for patients to help them learn more about their disease, guide them through conversations with care providers, and more. Our CKD Toolkit provides kidney disease patients with the information you need to know to make the best decisions for your health and managing your disease.
Our YouTube page has recorded webinars and animated videos to educate patients about their disease in a visual way and connect them with information from experts. Our 5 stages of chronic kidney disease video is an introduction to the stages of kidney disease and how they might effect you.
The American Kidney Fund recognizes the challenges people with kidney disease face as they adjust to a “new normal” which includes new eating, drinking and nutrition requirements. After receiving numerous questions, concerns, and stories from people with kidney disease about diet and nutrition, AKF created Kidney Kitchen® – a website dedicated to helping people with kidney disease navigate healthy eating. Kidney Kitchen focuses on what you can eat and drink, rather than what you cannot, because you should be empowered to make positive food and fluid choices without feeling burdened or discouraged.
Following a kidney-friendly eating plan can be challenging, especially for people on a tight budget. American Kidney Fund is here to help with tips and resources for eating on a budget.
A monthly virtual camp night for pediatric kidney patients across the country. These virtual camp nights are free of charge and provide children with a break from dialysis, hospitals, and their illness.
As an AKF Ambassador, you make an important difference on Capitol Hill, in state legislatures and in your own community. Together, we fight for policies that improve kidney care, protect patients' access to care and increase funding for kidney research. AKF Ambassadors play a key role in educating elected officials and the media about the impact of kidney disease.
