Important Milestones in NKF History

1950 — First meeting of the Committee for Nephrosis Research is held

1954 — First successful kidney transplant

1956 — Major national fund raising campaign raises a record $400,000

1960 — Invention of Teflon shunt marks beginning of dialysis treatment

1964 — National Kidney Foundation is officially named

1968 — First 13 NKF research fellowships awarded

1972 — End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) benefit within Medicare is established, providing federal government financing for nearly all Americans with kidney failure, the only federally funded chronic disease care program to date

1973 — Council of Nephrology Social Workers is established

1975 — Council on Renal Nutrition is established; NKF annual research awards pass $1 million mark

1976 — Council of Nephrology Nurses and Technicians is established

1980 — Research grant programs instituted by NKF's Councils for nurses, dietitians and social workers

1981 — American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD), NKF's first scientific publication, launches

1983 — Powerful new anti-rejection drugs enable thousands more to benefit from kidney transplantation therapy

1984 — NKF establishes Research Endowment Fund to support research and training agenda

1984 — National Transplant Act passes with NKF's strong leadership

1987 — First NKF Young Investigator Grants awarded

1990 — NKF organizes the US Transplant Games in Indiana; NKF annual research funding passes $2 million mark

1992 — NKF's 1st Spring Clinical Nephrology Meetings

1995 — NKF's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI®) launches, establishing clinical practice guidelines to improve patient care in key areas

1997 — NKF's Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP®), designed to detect kidney disease at its earliest stage, is developed; NKF annual research funding passes $3 million mark

2002 — Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO ®) is created, developing and promoting clinical guidelines worldwide

2002 - NKF's opposition to financial incentives for organ donation leads to defeat of this controversial provision in Congress

2003 — NKF's Kidney Learning Systems (KLS) launches, providing comprehensive educational tools about Chronic Kidney Disease

2005 — NKF's patient empowerment and advocacy group is established

2005 — NKF celebrates first "World Kidney Day"

2006 — NKF Secures Congressional funding for a CKD Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

2007 — NKF launches the Take Action Network to support our advocates' efforts

2007 — NKF announces plans to double the annual research budget over the next five years

2007 — NKF's KEEP program US screens 100,000th person