Washington DC (February 18, 2025) – Statement from Dr. Jesse Roach, SVP of Government Relations of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and a nephrologist on the recent terminations at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“While it is certainly appropriate to try to identify inefficiencies in government, the weekend terminations across HHS will negatively affect the lives of kidney patients in the United States. NKF is deeply concerned about these actions, which appear to be haphazard and indiscriminate.
“Among the more alarming cuts we’ve learned of are:
* A significant number of employees at HRSA’s Division of Transplantation who have been working on modernizing the organ transplant system. Mass layoffs stand in direct opposition to the goals of transplant system reform to improve efficiency, transparency, and the ability of government to respond to the needs of people who rely on the system. Chaotic terminations of the employees charged with implementing reforms will ensure the status quo persists.
* Staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services responsible for the safety of organ procurement, transplantation, and dialysis, ensuring that patients with chronic kidney disease receive high quality medical care, and increasing the number of kidneys available for transplant.
* Staff at the National Institutes of Health, who have been developing new treatments for patient’s kidney disease so that fewer Americans progress to kidney failure.
* Significant cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose staff, among other things work to prevent dialysis related infections, tracking and preventing diseases that can put immunocompromised patients at risk, and monitoring the overall health of Americans.
* Staff at the Food and Drug Administration who ensure that people with kidney disease have access to safe food, medications and medical devices.
"It is unclear if any prior thought was given to the effects these mass terminations will have on the ability of these agencies to function or the effects these cuts will have on everyday Americans. Right now, the journey to recovery just became harder for those waiting on a transplant, for patients who rely on dialysis to be safe, and those hoping for a cure or treatment for their chronic illnesses. There will also be an incalculable loss of talent, expertise and experience that will be difficult, if not impossible, to ever replace.
"We urge the Administration and Congress to reconsider and roll back these actions immediately so potential cuts can be made in a thoughtful and safer manner. To do otherwise may result in absolute tragedy for the American people.”
For more information about kidney disease, organ donation, and the National Kidney Foundation’s advocacy efforts, visit www.kidney.org.
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 35 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)-and approximately 90 percent don't know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanic people experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
About National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is the largest patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease. It is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and transplantation. For more information about kidney disease, please visit www.kidney.org/.
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Media Contact:
Paul McGee
National Kidney Foundation
716.523.6874
paul.mcgee@kidney.org