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Website: www.kidney.org/content/national-kidney-month
The National Kidney Foundation is the leading organization in the U.S. dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of kidney disease for hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals, millions of patients and their families, and tens of millions of Americans at risk.
The problem
Medicare alone spends $87 billion caring for individuals with kidney disease.
Why? Most people don't know anything about their kidneys and how important they are to their health, even the 37 million people who have kidney disease. If caught early, kidney disease can be slowed or even stopped.
Kidneys & COVID-19
Learn how the kidneys and kidney patients are affected here.
Why Are the Kidneys So Important?
Most people know that a major function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body. These waste products and excess fluid are removed through the urine. The production of urine involves highly complex steps of excretion and re-absorption. This process is necessary to maintain a stable balance of body chemicals.
The critical regulation of the body's salt, potassium and acid content is performed by the kidneys. The kidneys also produce hormones that affect the function of other organs. For example, a hormone produced by the kidneys stimulates red blood cell production. Other hormones produced by the kidneys help regulate blood pressure and control calcium metabolism.
The kidneys are powerful chemical factories that perform the following functions:
remove waste products from the body
remove drugs from the body
balance the body's fluids
release hormones that regulate blood pressure
produce an active form of vitamin D that promotes strong, healthy bones
control the production of red blood cells
Below you will find more information about the kidneys and the vital role they play in keeping your body functioning.
National Kidney Foundation
30 East 33rd Street
New York, NY 10016
(800) 622-9010
(855) NKF-CARES (653-2273)
(212) 689-9261 Fax
nkfcares@kidney.org
www.kidney.org/content/national-kidney-month
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