Kidney Disease Statistics

• There are over 10,000 End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont.
• More than 20 million Americans - one in nine adults - have chronic kidney disease. Another 20 million Americans are at increased risk for developing kidney disease.
• The number of kidney failure patients is expected to double to 650,000 by 2010 with a projected cost to taxpayers of $28 billion.
• High-risk groups include anyone suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, a family history of kidney disease, older Americans, African-Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders.
• High-risk groups should ask their physician for three routine tests: a blood test for creatinine, urine test for protein and measurement of blood pressure.
• Nearly 16 million Americans, or about 6 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes.
• About 50 million Americans (one out of 5 adults) have high blood pressure.
• More than 390,000 Americans are being treated with dialysis or kidney transplantation for kidney failure.
• Each year, nearly 60,000 Americans die from causes related to kidney failure.
• Kidney disease results in 27 million physician visits, 6 million hospitalizations and 2.5 million surgical procedures each year.

Organ Donation & Transplantation

• Over 84 ,000 U.S. patients are currently on the waiting list for an organ transplant.
• Over 54,000 of these patients are waiting for a kidney transplant.
• Every day, 16 to 17 people die while waiting for a transplant of a vital organ.
• Acceptable organ donors can range in age from newborn to 65 years or more.
• An estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people who die each year meet the criteria for organ donation, but less than half of that number become actual organ donors.
• 35 percent of potential donors never become donors because family members refuse to give consent.
• Every 14 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list.
• Organ transplant demand rises 5 times as fast as supply.

To reach the National Kidney Foundation of Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New Hampshire and Vermont, please call:
800-542-4001

To visit the National Kidney Foundation web site:
www.kidney.org