NBC12 Viewpoint: The National Kidney Foundation saves lives!

By: Kym Grinnage - email

March is National Kidney Month and it's a good time to place a spotlight on a health issue that affects someone you know and maybe even you.

Here's a startling statistic: There are 30 million people who have Chronic Kidney Disease or CKD. But here's the kicker, 10 percent of them don't even know it. That means there are 26 million Americans that are currently undiagnosed and again one of them may be you.

Right now there are more than 100,000 people on a waiting list for a transplant, and unfortunately in 2016 more than 3800 people died while waiting for a transplant.

So what can we do? First, make sure that everyone in your family gets a regular checkup. One of the signature programs of the National Kidney Foundation is their risk assessments and screenings program. Awareness, Prevention and Treatment will help NFK win the battle against kidney disease.

Nothing happens unless organizations and people like you get involved. And that's why NBC12 decided to be a partner with NFK to make sure that we do our part with awareness and advocacy.

There is so much work to be done and NFK is up for the challenge. Information is power, so I strongly suggest that you go to their Facebook page and to their very informative website: kidney.org.

On behalf of the local team of NFK, we thank you in advance for all of your support.