Nearly 500,000 Americans are considered to have end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and rely on dialysis treatments to live. Shortened and missed treatments can have serious health implications, including death. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for some in-center dialysis patients to receive their full treatment. Read more about the American Kidney Fund’s (AKF) statement on the impact of reported dialysis supply and staffing shortages. 

What Is the Problem?

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for many areas of healthcare, including dialysis centers. Many patients are being forced to either miss or shorten their treatment due to:

• Staffing shortages at dialysis clinics and access centers during COVID-19 surges
• Dialysis supply-chain issues leading to supply and delivery delays, in some cases without any notice

How Is AKF Supporting In-Center Dialysis Patients?

AKF is deeply concerned about how the shortages are affecting dialysis patients. They have urged federal and state government agencies to take immediate actions to mitigate this urgent problem with dialysis centers.

AKF has placed health equity as a longstanding priority and believes the concerns in-center dialysis facilities face are a matter of health equity. People of color are more likely to receive treatment in-center versus white Americans and are more vulnerable to feeling the impact of staffing and supply shortages. 

AKF is working to gather data on the scope of the issue and encourages patients who have been affected to contact AKF and share their experiences. Based on the information and data collected, AKF will facilitate conversations with officials to help resolve the issue as quickly as possible. 

*AKF Statement on Impact of Reported Dialysis Supply and Staffing Shortages. (2022, January 28). American Kidney Fund (AKF). https://www.kidneyfund.org/news/news-releases/akf-statement-on-impact-of-reported-dialysis-supply-and-staffing-shortages.html?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter220128&utm_content=&utm_term=