First meeting of the Committee for Nephrosis Research is held

First successful kidney transplant

Major national fund raising campaign raises a record $400,000

National Kidney Foundation is officially named; Invention of Teflon shunt marks beginning of dialysis treatment

First 13 NKF research fellowships awarded

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) benefit within Medicare is established, providing federal government financing for nearly all Americans with kidney failure, the only federally funded chronic disease care program to date

Council of Nephrology Social Workers is established

Council on Renal Nutrition is established; NKF annual research awards pass $1 million mark

Council of Nephrology Nurses and Technicians is established

Research grant programs instituted by NKF's Councils for nurses, dietitians and social workers

American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD), NKF's first scientific publication, launches

Powerful new anti-rejection drugs enable thousands more to benefit from kidney transplantation therapy

NKF establishes Research Endowment Fund to support research and training agenda

National Transplant Act passes with NKF's strong leadership

First NKF Young Investigator Grants awarded

NKF organizes the US Transplant Games in Indiana; NKF annual research funding passes $2 million mark

NKF's 1st Spring Clinical Nephrology Meetings

NKF's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI®) launches, establishing clinical practice guidelines to improve patient care in key areas

NKF's Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP®), designed to detect kidney disease at its earliest stage, is developed; NKF annual research funding passes $3 million mark

Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO ®) is created, developing and promoting clinical guidelines worldwide

NKF's opposition to financial incentives for organ donation leads to defeat of this controversial provision in Congress

NKF's Kidney Learning Systems (KLS) launches, providing comprehensive educational tools about Chronic Kidney Disease

People Like Us, NKF's patient empowerment and advocacy group, is established

NKF celebrates first "World Kidney Day"

NKF Secures Congressional funding for a CKD Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

NKF launches the Take Action Network to support People Like Us and their advocacy efforts

NKF announces plans to double the annual research budget over the next five years

NKF's KEEP program US screens 100,000th person