Programs

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Programs

The Alabama Kidney Foundation provides services to Alabama’s kidney patient population in the following three areas: financial assistance, education, and support services.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

AKF provides two different Financial Assistance Programs to assist low-income kidney patients during this difficult time in their lives.

Daily Living Needs (DLN)

This program provides assistance to help patients meet basic daily expenses. The Foundation helps patients with prescriptions, utility bills and other living expenses. 

The AL Transportation Assistance Program (ATAP)

Many kidney dialysis patients live far away from dialysis centers and hospitals. The ATAP program offers transportation services to patients who need help with the high cost of travel to dialysis treatments and transplant-related appointments.

The AL Transportation Assistance Program (ATAP)

Single person household – $1,600
Multi-person household – $1,800

Social workers at the patient’s dialysis or transplant clinic must submit a request for assistance on behalf of their patient. Applications are done electronically at www.alabamakidneyfoundation.com.

Healthcare,,Geriatric,Medicine,,Medical,Check,Up.,Senior,Man,Visiting,Doctor
sqr021-col1
sqr021-col2

EDUCATION

Kidney disease affects patients of different backgrounds and ages. In its early stages, kidney disease has no noticeable symptoms. That is why the Foundation’s educational efforts are vital to Alabama. We address three community needs at the Alabama Kidney Foundation – patient education, public education and organ donation awareness.

Patient Education

  • We provide free printed and web-based education materials to help patients and their family members understand chronic kidney disease.
  • The AKF created Kidney Education Videos in place of the in-person conferences due to the pandemic. Topics include mental health, nutrition, fluid management and transplantation.
  • We mail our patients each year the Foundation’s “Kidney Keynotes” newsletter with useful information and resources.

Public Education

  • We provide free resources for community and corporate health fairs, churches and other community-organized entities.
  • We produce free printed and web-based educational materials.
  • We promote how to prevent chronic kidney disease while raising awareness of organ donation.

To request education materials, please contact us at (205) 900-7250 or (888) 585-1712.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Patient Crisis Relief Fund

The AKF created the Patient Crisis Relief Fund to provide additional financial and emotional support to dialysis and kidney transplant patients during the holiday season. This fund provides a wider range of assistance to include patients that do not fit within the income parameters of the Financial Assistance Program or are requesting assistance that doesn’t fall within the guidelines of the Financial Assistance Program. To request assistance, please contact a social worker at your dialysis clinic or transplant clinic to submit an application.

Other Support Services

The AKF participates in dialysis center activities to help encourage and lift the spirits of patients going through dialysis treatments. The AKF provides additional support to dialysis clinic staff when possible.
Hands,Holiding,Red,Heart,With,Kidney,,World,Kidney,Day,,National
sqr021-col1
sqr021-col2

ORGAN DONATION

A Quick Look

  • More than 93,000 patients are waiting for a kidney transplant in the United States.
  • Upwards of 1,300 patients are waiting for a kidney transplant in Alabama.
  • UAB performs over 300 kidney transplants annually, including living donors, making it one of the top transplant centers in the nation.

How To Be An Organ Donor

You can make a difference by becoming an organ donor and joining the Legacy Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. It is important to remember that indicating your wishes on your driver’s license is not enough. Please add your name to the registry, and discuss your decision with your family. Registering is simple and only takes a few minutes. You can also call 1-800-252-3677 and request registration forms.

There is a critical shortage of donated organs and tissue. Currently, over 1,000 Alabama residents are waiting for a kidney transplant. To help meet this great need, Legacy of Hope launched Donor Registry, a database that documents the wishes of people who want to donate their organs and tissues upon their passing. Other states have implemented similar registries resulting in significant increases in organ donation.
For more information on organ donation, visit the following sites: