American Kidney Fund Announces Renewed Support for Educational Know Your Kidneys™ Campaign

ROCKVILLE, Md. (Aug. 1, 2022) — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today announced that Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Otsuka) and Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company are renewing their support for AKF's ongoing nationwide education campaign, Know Your Kidneys™, the goal of which is to empower individuals to fulfill life's possibilities by preventing or slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This support will help AKF expand the campaign to include new materials and messaging to continue to reach those most at risk for kidney disease.

In the United States, 37 million people are living with kidney disease yet nine out 10 people with the disease are unaware that they have it because it typically has no symptoms until the late stages when the kidneys are already badly damaged. The Know Your Kidneys campaign encourages Americans to better understand the vital role their kidneys play in their overall health and to take action to ensure early diagnosis and proper management of CKD, along with its main precursors high blood pressure and diabetes, to help prevent or slow the progression.

"We are grateful to Otsuka and Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly for helping AKF continue and expand our Know Your Kidneys campaign," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. "As the rates of kidney disease continue to rise in the U.S., we hope to increase access to educational tools that will help people receive an earlier diagnosis of kidney disease, and hopefully prevent it altogether."

The campaign has a positive message: by knowing the state of your kidneys, you can ultimately know a longer, healthier life. It features educational content and downloadable discussion guides to encourage patients to start critical conversations with their health care teams to protect their kidneys before and after a kidney disease diagnosis. With additional support from Otsuka and Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly, the campaign will expand to include new materials like animated explainer videos and information focusing on stage-3 chronic kidney disease, a tipping point before the disease progresses to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.

"Kidney disease is often called 'the silent killer' because you develop no signs or symptoms until the disease has progressed to the point of kidney failure," said Burton. "By continuing to enhance our Know Your Kidneys campaign, AKF aims to not only raise national awareness about the importance of kidney health but educate and empower people to learn about the state of their own kidneys, intervening early before it becomes life-threatening."