America’s kidney disease epidemic

When a young Dutchman named Dr. Willem Kolff began developing the first artificial kidney in the 1930s, anyone suffering from kidney failure faced almost certain death. Over the next 30 years, however, Kolff – along with several other notable scientists – successfully developed an artificial means to cleanse the body of toxins, eliminate excess fluid, and balance electrolytes. That process – what we now call hemodialysis – is one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of our time, allowing millions worldwide to survive acute kidney injury and chronic kidney failure.

While ongoing biomedical research has helped to fine-tune the science behind hemodialysis, the need for ongoing and adequately funded kidney care research has only increased. Today, approximately 40 million Americans suffer from kidney diseases – and another 650,000 suffer from kidney failure, largely due to increased incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure. The numbers are staggering, yet the amount of resources dedicated to improving the outlook pales in comparison.

According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released this January, there is a tremendous gap between investment in kidney research and the actual disease burden. In other words, the federal government spends tens of billions of dollars caring for those with kidney failure, while investing just a small fraction of that number in biomedical research that could help slow disease progression or prevent failure altogether.

This is lack of balance between costs for care and investment in research needs to change. The numbers are telling. Even though kidney disease affects 40 million Americans, the government’s National Institute of Health dedicates only $564 million out of its $30 billion budget in kidney disease research.  

Read more at The Hill