Hispanics, Blacks share stories of kidney disease

The Voices of Kidney Disease
NY Times

INSERT DESCRIPTIONMonica Almeida/The New York Times, Jason Cohn, Ryan Collerd, David Goldman and A.J. Mast for The New York Times

More than 26 million Americans — that’s one in nine adults — have kidney disease. Millions more are likely to develop the disease, but most of us don’t know we’re at risk.

People with diabetes, hypertension and a family history are all at risk of kidney disease. African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and people over 65 are also at increased risk.

The National Kidney Foundation has an excellent Web site with information as well as a quiz testing your knowledge. But to really understand how kidney disease affects your life, listen to the latest Patient Voices by my colleague Karen Barrow. You’ll hear from six men and women who have undergone transplants and treatments like dialysis as a result of kidney disease.

“Chronic kidney disease is an epidemic. It’s growing in huge numbers, and people aren’t realizing that modification of their diets and being on top of your hypertension and diabetes could save you from dialysis, could save your kidneys,” says Anna Bennett, 42, who lives in the Bronx. “It’s a shocking, life changing amazing thing to get a phone call saying someone is giving you a body part you can’t live without.”