Resources for Kidney Patients



The following links are to organizations and sites that we believe will be of benefit to our patients and their physicians. Below you will find a brief description of many of these sites. They are divided into three categories:
Kidney Specific Organizations Kidney Related Information Sites General Health Information

Kidney Specific Organizations


American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP)
www.aakp.org The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) exists to serve the needs, interests, and welfare of all kidney patients and their families. The site offers information on education, membership, and the AAKP Patient plan, which provides kidney patients and their family members with a comprehensive guide to kidney disease and treatment.

American Kidney Fund (AKF)
www.akfinc.org The American Kidney Fund (AKF) is a national voluntary health organization providing direct financial assistance for the benefit of kidney patients supported by comprehensive educational programs, clinical research and community service projects. The AKF was recently named as one of the “Top Ten Best Health Charities” by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Site features include a newsroom, description of programs, kidney disease facts, a shopping mall, a lifestyle section, and items for professionals.

American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
www.aspneph.com The American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN) was founded in 1969 to promote optimal care for children with renal disease and to disseminate advances in the clinical practice and basic science of pediatric nephrology.

iKidney.com
ikidney.com iKidney.com is a worldwide kidney disease community Web site. The site, which is sponsored by an educational grant from Watson Pharma, Inc., provides patient education articles focusing on lifestyle assistance, as well as professional resource materials and ongoing updates on renal nutrition and disease. Additional features on the site—which is geared toward patients, their family members, and renal care professionals—include a speakers directory, a directory of dialysis facilities, a calendar of renal-related events, renal recipes, a marketplace of patient-oriented products, and a “Kids Corner.” Long-time renal patient advocate Lori Hartwell—author of the book Chronically Happy: Joyful Living in Spite of Chronic Illness—is the publisher of iKidney.com.

National Kidney Foundation (NKF)
www.kidney.org The National Kidney Foundation Web site provides information on organ donation, renal and transplant public policy, and professional education programs. Message boards enable transplant recipients and donor families to communicate with peers and friends. Additionally, the site contains a newsroom with NKF's most recent press releases and fact sheets highlighting a variety of kidney/urology topics and key statistics. Membership and meeting information for physicians and for NKF's allied health professional and constituent councils is also available. An online newsletter, the Electronic Kidney, offers stories on breaking medical and legislative news, patient profiles, and an events calendar for the renal community. The CyberNephrology page is NKF's gateway to Internet based aids to the practice of nephrology, enabling renal care professionals to share information, concerns, and case studies with colleagues around the world.



Kidney Related Information Sites


Dialysis & Transplantation
www.eneph.com Dialysis & Transplantation's own Web site for the international renal care community. Features include an archive of clinical articles as presented in D&T, including the full text, abstract, and all associated tables, figures, and references. The site also houses: "The List," D&T's exclusive, international directory of dialysis centers that accept traveling patients; a Renal Care News section; a Calendar section; and a 6-year Index of Articles that have appeared in D&T, broken down by Author and Subject.

RenalInfo
www.renalinfo.com RenalInfo offers information about kidney failure, including causes, symptoms, tests, ideas to help maintain health, and a comprehensive presentation of kidney disease treatment choices.

Hypertension, Dialysis, and Clinical Nephrology (HDCN)
www.hdcn.com HDCN provides up-to-date, selected information on renal disorders and their treatment (hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis), and about hypertension, dialysis, and clinical nephrology topics. HDCN is a site for physicians and nurses who treat patients with renal disease. Here physicians and nurses can find answers to frequently asked questions pertaining to hypertension, dialysis, and nephrology papers, abstracts, and meeting presentations.

Kidney & Urology Foundation of America
www.kidneyurology.org The Kidney and Urology Foundation of America is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping people avoid the debilitating effects of kidney and urologic diseases.

Kidney School
www.kidneyschool.org Kidney School is an interactive, Web-based learning program in 10-minute modules. It was designed to help people learn what they need to know to understand kidney disease and its treatment, adjust to kidney disease, make good medical choices, and live as fully as possible. Visitors to the site decide which modules to access and when, so learning is entirely individualized.

Life Options Rehabilitation Program
www.lifeoptions.org The Life Options Rehabilitation Program is dedicated to helping people live long and live well despite kidney disease. Life Options is actively engaged in research, partnering with other organizations, offering technical support and developing high-quality, research-based educational materials for kidney patients and renal professionals. Sections include the Showcase of Ideas, Patient Community, Kidney Disease Info, a glossary, and free booklets on exercise, renal rehabilitation, insurance, finance, and much more. All Life Options materials are free and can be downloaded or ordered.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
www.niddk.nih.gov Sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, this site provides many patient education materials on kidney and urologic disorders, as well as on diabetes, digestive disorders, and nutrition. Also provided are research resources and funding information for biomedical investigators, recent news releases, and links to other U.S. government sites on the Web.

NephroWorld
www.nephroworld.com A virtual community and marketplace for professionals, patients, organizations, and companies related to nephrology.

Renal Support Network
www.renalnetwork.org The Renal Support Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating communication among people who live with kidney disease and their families.

RenalWEB
www.renalweb.com RenalWEB is the most visited dialysis-related Web site, and is the "daily newspaper" for the dialysis and nephrology community.  RenalWEB specializes in organizing breaking news, medical resources, product information, and other Web sites.  Visitors can explore issues and current events at any level, from brief overview to in-depth analyses.  Features include the Dialysis Yellow Pages, classified job ads, discussion forums, resource listings for dialysis outcomes and topics, up-to-the-hour stock quotes, and more.  RenalWEB is also the webmaster for the National Renal Administrators Association (www.nraa.org) and the National Association of Nephrology Technicians/Technologists (www.dialysistech.org).

U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS)
www.usrds.org The USRDS is a national data system that collects, analyzes, and distributes information about end-stage renal disease in the U.S.  The USRDS is funded directly by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  The USRDS Coordinating Center is operated under a contract with the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation.



General Health Information


American Diabetes Association
www.diabetes.org The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reaching hundreds of communities.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
www.fda.gov Provides news about recent FDA approvals for marketing or testing of drugs and medical devices.  A search engine allows the user to find information on drugs or devices to treat such conditions as renal failure.

Lupus Foundation of America
www.lupus.org With nearly 300 chapters, branches and support groups in 32 states, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is the nation's leading non-profit voluntary health organization dedicated to finding the causes and cure for lupus.

TransWeb
www.transweb.org TransWeb is a not-for-profit educational Web site serving the world transplant community.  Based at the University of Michigan, TransWeb features news and events, real people's experiences, the top 10 myths about organ donation, a donation quiz, and a large collection of questions and answers, as well as a reference area with everything from articles to videos.  For teens, TransWeb features "The Transplant Journey" - a multimedia trip through the transplant process, including the donor family's point of view.  A comprehensive subject index and the ability to search the site make the TransWeb useful for a broad audience.

U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)
www.nlm.nih.gov The NLM is the world's largest medical library, providing health information, library services, research programs, and exhibits. The MEDLINE database, consisting of more than 11 million references and abstracts from scientific journals. PubMed is used and provides links to full-text articles and other related resources. MEDLINE Plus organizes the information into health-related topics, provides drug information, medical dictionaries, directories of doctors and hospitals, and many other resources.


Terms You should know


Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a membrane (filter). Usually part of a special machine.

Nephrology: The art and science of the care of the kidney.

Renal: Having to do with the kidney.

Online Medical Encyclopedia


Online Medical Dictionary

Information on this web site is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a medical or health condition. You should carefully read all product packaging. If you have or suspect you have a medical problem, promptly contact your professional healthcare provider..