Kenny the Kidney isn't exactly a celebrity, but he has stepped up to be the spokesperson for a disease that affects at least 1 in every 1,000 Americans––children and adults. That means that approximately 40 people at a sold-out Tiger baseball game at Comerica Park in Detroit would have polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
Kenny the Kidney is the alter ego of Bill Brazell, who is on the board of trustees for the PKD Foundation. The cause is quite personal for Brazell because his family has lost many relatives to the disease, including his cousin Michael and his uncle Dick. Brazell has PKD, and his infant daughter, Genevieve, has a 50% chance of developing this genetic disease.
What is truly remarkable is that researchers believe that they are close to finding a cure for PKD. They just need increased funding to speed up the process. "Curing it would save the government $2 billion per year––forever," says the PKD Foundation. "It would free up 5,000 spaces on the kidney-transplant waiting list, thus helping many more people than just people with PKD." Diabetics make up the greatest number of kidney transplant candidates. The American Diabetes Assocation reports that 23.6 million Americans have diabetes. That is 7.8% of the population.
"Each year, PKD costs the federal government more than $2 billion a year, in Medicare, Medicaid, lost productivity, and so on," says the PKD Foundation. "Yet the government spends just over $40 million to find a cure."
How you can help cure polycystic kidney disease
There are several ways you can help fight polycystic kidney disease:
- Donate to Bill Brazell's fundraising effort through the PKD Foundation.
- Raise PKD awareness by sharing information via email, word-of-mouth, and on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
- Contact your Congresspersons in the House and Senate to tell them to increase funding for polycystic kidney disease research.
- Organize or participate in an event for the PKD Foundation.
Comments
Thank you so much for shining a light on our quest to cure PKD, Diane! Much appreciated! I'm just about to tweet it. Thank you!!
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