Needs Statement

Kidney disease affects over 20 million adults in the US, is the 9th leading cause of death in the US, and remains a devastating medical, social, and economic problem for patients, families, and society worldwide. The only treatments available for patients who progress to ESRD are dialysis or kidney transplant. Millions who need these treatments do not receive them – only 2 million patients are on dialysis worldwide – leaving millions more to die every year from lack of access to this life-saving therapy.

For those fortunate enough to receive dialysis, the average life expectancy is only 3 years, and risks of complications from infections, blood clots, and vascular access failure remain exceedingly high. Dialysis technology remains fundamentally unchanged since its inception in 1962, with little governmental or industry incentive for improvement. Patient mortality rates remain extraordinarily high, while quality of life and rehabilitation potential remain poor. Even with poor outcomes, the cost for dialysis care in the US exceeds $35 billion annually.

At the Center for Dialysis Innovation, we are committed to solving these problems by making dialysis a truly accessible and rehabilitative therapy that will dramatically impact and prolong the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the US and millions worldwide, where kidney failure often remains an immediate death sentence.