List all agencies

Health Condition Search

Use this pull down menu to see a list of member agencies related to a specific health condition.

National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, Inc.

215 West Illinois, Suite 1C
Chicago, IL 60610
312-321-1500
312-321-1505 Fax
www.nkfi.org

Mission
The mission of the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois is to educate our communities on the ways to prevent kidney and urinary tract disease, improve the health and well-being of the individuals and families affected by these diseases through services, resources, and medical research and to increase the availability of all organs for transplantation.

Facts and Statistics
1 in 9 people has kidney disease

Untreated high blood pressure and diabetes are the two leading causes of kidney failure

One organ donor can save or enhance the lives of more than 25 people

An average of 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant

Health Info
Kidney and urologic diseases continue to be major causes of work-loss, physician visits and hospitalization among men and women.

Your kidneys may be small (about the size of your fist), but they perform many vital functions that help maintain your overall health, including filtering waste and excess fluids from your blood. Serious kidney disease may lead to complete kidney failure and the need for dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant to say alive.

Fundraising & Administrative Percentage
90 cents of each dollar raised goes directly to support our programs and services.

Testimonials
Frank received a kidney transplant more than 10 years ago. While his kidney functioned well for several years, in the summer of 2003 he learned from his physician that it was rejecting. It didn’t seem as if there was anything to do but wait for the kidney to reject and hope that there would be another available.

Then Frank remembered some information he learned at a program presented by the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois called “Living With Transplantation”. Amelia Bartholomew, MD had talked about new drug therapies in transplantation. Empowered with this knowledge, Frank decided to ask his physician about this innovative treatment and a change to his medication regimen. After a thorough review of his case with his physician it was agreed that this was a good option for Frank. Now, six months later, his kidney function has returned to normal and there are no signs of it rejecting. Frank gives a great deal of credit to the NKFI providing him with the information needed to make an educated decision involving his health.

Richard is the owner of a wholesale grocery business in Chicago. The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois hosted a kidney and diabetes screening there because of their demographic – mostly Hispanic employees (Hispanics are 2-3 times more likely to develop kidney disease than Caucasians). During the screening, staff asked Richard to participate. He was reluctant to at first because of his busy schedule, but eventually did. He agreed to be tested and discovered that he has diabetes.

Since the screening, Richard has seen both his physician and a diabetes educator to learn how to manage his disease. Being screened by the NKFI changed, and perhaps even extended, Richard’s life.