On the Path to KIDNEY EQUITY FOR ALL™: NKF’s 2025 Progress Report

• Early diagnosis is improving: NKF helped thousands of people get diagnosed through expanded kidney testing programs—many before symptoms began.
• Access to care is growing: NKF's bilingual education, home dialysis resources, and peer support programs helped more people make informed decisions.
• Transplant equity is advancing: NKF fought for new policies, tools, and innovations that increased access to living donation and reduced organ waste.
• Advocacy is driving change: NKF brought patient voices to Congress, influencing policies that shape kidney care nationwide.
• More communities are being reached: NKF's culturally relevant campaigns and outreach helped build trust and awareness where it’s needed most.

Bottom line: With your help, progress is happening, but kidney equity isn’t here yet. Continued support, awareness, and action are key to ensuring everyone has a fair chance at kidney health.

Kidney disease affects more than 37 million people in the United States. Despite this, access to care is not the same for everyone.

Factors outside one’s control, like where they live, the language they speak, and the color of their skin, can affect kidney health. They can delay diagnosis, limit treatment options, or prevent people from getting care at all.

Kidney equity means everyone can get the care they need to prevent kidney disease or be diagnosed early, no matter who they are or where they live.

Learn more about KIDNEY EQUITY FOR ALL™.

Early detection saves lives, and when 90% of people with kidney disease don’t know they have it, more consistent screening is needed. But many people still face barriers to kidney testing, especially in rural and underserved communities. Even among people regularly seeing their doctor, the majority don’t get screened properly for kidney disease, or receive a diagnosis when tests show there is early kidney damage. NKF is determined to close these gaps.

Reaching Patients Earlier, Where They Live

NKF’s CKDintercept program published results from an at-home uACR testing program in partnership with Affinia Healthcare, a federally qualified health center in St. Louis. uACR is a key test for early kidney disease diagnosis. But the majority of people at risk for kidney disease don’t get the test when they should. 

Nearly 1,500 people completed testing through this program. Half showed signs of kidney damage, which had not previously been documented. Most importantly, testing reached patients earlier, and 84% completed follow-up visits. The CKDintercept team is working with Affinia to implement care team education, electronic health record (EHR) tools, and other workflow modifications to ensure that uACR testing is conducted annually for at-risk patients. 

Learn more about NKF and Affinia Healthcare’s uACR testing program. 

Improved Care in a Large Rural Health System

NKF partnered with Sanford Health to improve kidney disease testing and treatment across the nation’s largest rural health system. We did this by implementing electronic alerts to enhance patient safety, clinic workflows, and clinician education. 

Within just 10 months, testing rates nearly doubled. Over 2000 people who previously had undiagnosed kidney disease now have a diagnosis in their medical records. The use of kidney-protective medications also increased fivefold. 

An ongoing evaluation is being conducted to ensure that patients served by the health system continue to receive guideline-recommended annual screening and the earliest possible CKD diagnosis. 

Sanford Health is just one of 17 health care organizations working with the CKDintercept team to improve early diagnosis and management of kidney disease. In total, these health systems serve more than three million patients in 13 states. 

Learn how NKF and Sanford Health improved kidney testing in rural America. 

Standardized the Race-Free eGFR Equation 

NKF’s work making the race-free eGFR the new testing standard gained national recognition. 

• The NKF Pharmacy Workgroup received the 2025 ACCP Ambulatory Care Practice and Research Network Outstanding Paper of the Year Award for guidance on using race-free eGFR to improve medication decisions. 
• NKF received the Friends of Pathology Award for advancing national adoption of the 2021 race-free CKD-EPI equations.

Better testing means more people can be diagnosed earlier and start treatment sooner, and take other steps to manage their kidney disease before serious damage or other complications, like cardiovascular disease, occur. 

Having and understanding healthcare options is a key part of kidney equity. Here’s how NKF gave patients more culturally relevant education. 

Bilingual Home Dialysis Awareness

NKF partnered with Vantive to launch a quiz that helps people learn about their home dialysis options. Too often, patients are never told that home dialysis is an option. Education in English and Spanish helps more people make the best treatment decisions for themselves. 

See NKF’s new home dialysis hub. 

Brought Peer Support to More Patients

NKF announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with inTandem Health to expand peer support in transplant care. By combining NKF’s network of more than 200 trained peer mentors with a digital platform, transplant patients, living donors, and caregivers are automatically offered one-to-one support at key moments in their journey.

Learn more about NKF and inTandem Health’s peer support initiative. 

Celebrated KidneyCARE Study Milestone

The KidneyCARE (Community Access to Research Equity)™ Study, the first national kidney disease patient registry, now includes more than 1,000 participants from all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Each participant helps advance research that improves kidney care for everyone, while also receiving personalized updates, tips, and educational resources straight to their inbox.

Learn more about the KidneyCARE Study. 

When people understand their options and feel supported, they are more likely to make the best decisions possible for their long-term health.

Kidney transplant saves lives, but the system isn’t fair for everyone. NKF has continued working to improve the transplant system’s equity and transparency so everyone has the same chance at a second chance at life. 

Living Donor Protection Act (LDPA) Moved Forward

NKF helped see LDPA introduced in the U.S. Senate and House. At the state level, NKF testified in three additional states to expand donor protections, building on the 35 states that already have LDPA laws.

Raise your voice to support legislation like LDPA. Become a Voices for Kidney Health Advocate.

Launched Living Donation Business Toolkit

This toolkit shows hospitals and transplant centers how investing in living kidney donation can save lives while making financial and operational sense. With more centers offering living donor programs, more patients across the US will have guidance in finding a living donor. 

View and share NKF’s Living Donation Business Toolkit. 

NKF Innovation Fund Invested to Reduce Discarded Kidneys

NKF invested in Northernmost™'s NoMo™ Kidney Pump and BMI OrganBank’s organ assessment system. Both companies are working to reduce the number of donated kidneys that go unused.

Learn more about NKF’s Innovation Fund. 

Protecting donors and strengthening transplant systems helps more people access lifesaving transplants.

In 2025, NKF’s advocacy efforts brought the kidney patient voice directly to policymakers.

Broke Records at NKF’s Kidney Patient Summit

The 2025 Kidney Patient Summit hosted 112 advocates from 35 states, who held 171 Congressional meetings in just two days. Patients, caregivers, donors, and healthcare professionals united around shared priorities, including transplant transparency and OPTN reform.

Highlighted Kidney Care in Congress 

Advocacy continued throughout the year with Board Hill Day, in-district meetings during the August recess, and World Kidney Day on Capitol Hill, hosted with the Coalition for Kidney Health.

Supported Major Policy Efforts

2025 was a busy year for NKF’s work supporting major policy efforts: 

• Published a value-based white paper focused on early CKD detection and management
• Brought attention to rural and underserved patients in the 2026 ESRD payment ruling
• Defended FY2026 funding for OPTN modernization, the CDC’s CKD Initiative, and NIDDK research
• Fought to protect Medicaid and Advanced Premium Tax Credits
• Continued advocating for Medical Nutrition Therapy, which recognizes the role dietitians play in managing kidney disease, blood pressure, and diabetes. 

Learn more about NKF’s policy wins in 2025. 

Policy decisions shape who gets care and when. Strong advocacy helps ensure kidney patients are not overlooked.

Building kidney equity requires meeting people where they are and earning trust.

Empowered African American/Black Communities

NKF offered kidney health screenings and education at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference. NKF also hosted “Empowering Black Communities Through Kidney Health,” a panel focused on culture, wellness, and health equity.

Created a Bilingual Hydration Campaign

NKF launched a bilingual hydration campaign featuring English- and Spanish-language PSAs to help more people make kidney-friendly hydration choices. 

Take the quiz to test your hydration knowledge. 

Observed Día de los Muertos

NKF launched a Día de los Muertos campaign to honor loved ones lost to kidney disease and to engage the Hispanic/Latino community through culturally meaningful outreach. The campaign featured bilingual digital content and a memorial photo experience, creating space for remembrance, awareness, and conversations about kidney health.

Clear, culturally relevant communication helps people take action to protect their kidney health.

In 2025, NKF celebrated its 75th anniversary. Through the 75+You campaign, NKF set bold goals for the future, including increasing kidney disease testing, expanding access to home dialysis, and doubling kidney donations by 2030.

While kidney equity does not happen overnight, NKF believes that with innovation, strong advocacy, and community-centered care, progress is possible.

See all the ways you can take action with NKF today.

Because when kidney care is fair, everyone has a better chance of living well.