For nearly thirty years, the Alabama Kidney Foundation has been providing programs to Alabamians suffering from kidney disease; programs that truly make a difference in people’s lives. The Foundation provides financial assistance, education, recreation and support services to kidney patients in need. We rely on financial contributions from people like you to maintain our four programs, so please consider making a gift today.

1. Financial Assistance

Medication or Food? Dialysis or Rent? Unfortunately, many kidney disease patients face these choices each month. The majority of kidney patients are on limited social security disability because their illness and the frequency of treatments prevents them from working. These patients live very modestly and are often times one small step away from financial devastation. All it takes is an unusually high utility bill or an unexpected expenditure and they simply cannot make ends meet. To help with the tremendous financial burden caused by a chronic illness, the Foundation provides two types of assistance.

Daily Living Needs
The Alabama Kidney Foundation provides financial assistance to kidney patients to assist with daily living needs such as medication costs, handicap equipment and unusually high utility bills. Kidney patients who qualify for the program make a request for financial aid through their social worker. A Patient Aid Committee, made up of social workers and volunteers, review the requests and allocate the funds.

Critical Needs Treatment Related Transportation Assistance
Patients on dialysis endure approximately fourteen medical appointments each month! Patients dialyze 3 days a week, 3-4 hours each time. Many patients cannot work full time due to the frequency and duration of treatments. To ensure kidney patients in need can travel to and from dialysis clinics, the Alabama Kidney Foundation provides financial assistance to patients for treatment-related transportation costs. The Foundation receives referrals for the transportation program from social workers and provides the funds directly to the transportation companies for each patient enrolled in the program. This program helps the sickest of the sick with the fewest financial means travel to their life saving treatment.

To apply for financial assistance, please contact a social worker at a dialysis unit or transplant center near you. All requests must be submitted by a licensed social worker.

2. Education

Patient Education
Each year, the Alabama Kidney Foundation hosts two annual Patient Education Conferences. The conferences are held in the fall in Birmingham and Mobile. These are valuable educational experiences for dialysis patients, kidney transplant recipients and those awaiting a transplant. The day long conferences boast an impressive array of speakers, including nephrologists, social workers and dietitians from around the southeast, who lead informational sessions. Examples of topics from years past include Healthy and Tasty Cooking, Insurance and Financial Aid Updates, Kidney Research Developments, Dialysis and Transplant Medications 101, Employment and Job Retention Post Transplant, Communicating with your Healthcare Team, Depression and Kidney Disease, and Organ Donor Registry and the Waiting List. The conferences are free to kidney patients and one guest.

Public Education
The Alabama Kidney Foundation works to promote organ donation awareness and the prevention of kidney disease through health fairs, speaking engagements and the distribution of relevant materials.

3. Recreation

Kidney Camp
Each year, the Alabama Kidney Foundation sponsors adult kidney patients to attend Kidney Camp. Held at Camp ASCCA in Jackson Gap, Alabama, Kidney Camp offers a weekend of fishing, boating, horseback riding, dancing, arts and crafts, and lots more! Due to the devastating effects of kidney disease, many people rely on Kidney Camp as their only vacation of the year! The Foundation also supports two pediatric kidney camps in Alabama.

Dialysis Clinic Activities
In an effort to alleviate the boredom and monotony associated with dialysis treatments, the Alabama Kidney Foundation provides dialysis clinics with games and activities like Bingo, as well as holiday theme decorations and parties.

Annual Transplant Picnic
Each spring, organ recipients who received their transplant at University Hospital in Birmingham gather with living related donors and donor families to celebrate the gift of life. The donor quilt is displayed so people may view the individual quilts made by donor families honoring loved ones they lost who donated the gift of life. The picnic is held outdoors at UAB and is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship and fun. The Foundation is a proud sponsor of the Transplant Picnic.

4. Support Services

Kidney Care Team
“Kidney Care Team volunteers provide comfort and first hand knowledge of the transplant process. We show patients how wonderful it is to be well again!”
Ann DeHaven, volunteer

Kidney Care Team is made up of volunteers who have received a kidney transplant and want to provide hope and knowledge to others who are going through the transplant process. Each Tuesday evening, Kidney Care Team volunteers visit pre and post transplant patients. The volunteers distribute goody bags filled with educational material and resources for the patients. They also answer any questions and address concerns patients have.

Support Groups
The Alabama Kidney Foundation host support groups for kidney patients and their families around the state, specifically in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Florence/Muscle Shoals.

For more information on any of the Foundation's four programs, please call (205) 934-0608 or (800) 750-3331.