American Kidney Fund Receives $105,000 From Robert I. Schattner Foundation to Fund Coronavirus Emergency Grants for Kidney Patients in D.C., Maryland and Virginia

ROCKVILLE, Md. (April 13, 2020)  — The American Kidney Fund (AKF) today announced it has received a $105,000 grant from the Rockville-based Robert I. Schattner Foundation after an urgent appeal to replenish its Coronavirus Emergency Fund for low-income dialysis and recent transplant patients. The foundation's generous grant will provide emergency assistance to patients in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia who need help paying for food, transportation, medications and medical supplies. 100% of the foundation's grant, like all donations to the AKF Coronavirus Emergency Fund, will go directly to patients in need, not overhead.

Applications for emergency assistance have far outpaced AKF's available funding for grants to provide critically needed financial assistance to low-income U.S. dialysis and transplant patients who are facing unexpected expenses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. AKF's initially reallocated $300,000 from its existing budget to seed the Coronavirus Emergency Fund, but that amount was quickly exhausted. AKF is continuing its urgent appeal to individuals, corporations and foundations to continually replenish the fund because the need is so great. Contributions to the fund may be made at KidneyFund.org/emergency.

"We are so grateful to the Robert I. Schattner Foundation for such generosity in this trying time," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF president and CEO. "So many patients in this region are vulnerable and highly susceptible to serious illness if they come in contact with the coronavirus. Their already fragile finances cannot absorb another shock such as what they are experiencing."

The AKF Coronavirus Emergency Fund provides a grant of $250 to any U.S. dialysis or recent kidney transplant patient who applies to AKF and demonstrates financial need, as funding becomes available. The organization has received well over 6,000 applications for assistance but currently has funding for less than half.

Dialysis patients are at high risk for serious illness if they become infected with the virus because of their underlying medical conditions. They cannot postpone their life-sustaining dialysis treatments. In addition, they are required to follow a restricted diet. Post-transplant patients take immunosuppressive medications that increase their susceptibility to diseases like COVID-19. AKF has a longstanding Disaster Relief Program for patients affected by natural disasters in specific locations, but this is the first time that the organization has activated a nationwide emergency grant system.

AKF has established a special webpage, KidneyFund.org/coronavirus, with information and resources to help patients and families through this challenging period.

AKF is a 4-Star rated charity that is included on Charity Navigator's list of highly rated nonprofits providing emergency assistance in communities. Any individual who would like to make a contribution to the AKF Coronavirus Emergency Fund may donate at www.kidneyfund.org/emergency.