Company Helps Raise Awareness of Organ and Tissue Donation for Kidney Disease Patients
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The American Transplant Foundation's (ATF) Team Transplant cycling team is riding in the 2010 Subaru Elephant Rock Cycling Festival to help raise awareness of organ and tissue donation for patients suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and other ailments that cause organ failure. Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), operator of the nation’s leading network of dialysis facilities, is a “Podium Level” sponsor of the ATF cycling team and will co-host a booth at the event with information on CKD and available treatment options, including home-based dialysis.
The Subaru Elephant Rock Cycling Festival is Colorado's largest cycling event and takes place on Sunday, June 6, 2010 in Castle Rock.
CKD is a progressive, usually permanent loss of kidney function. When CKD leads to kidney failure, or End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), the only treatment options are a kidney transplant or dialysis. As a nonprofit organization, the ATF promotes organ and tissue donation for transplant patients in numerous ways. The group creates more mainstream opportunities for people to register as donors, provides education and awareness through community-based outreach programs, and supports medical and clinical advancements in transplantation.
FMCNA has made a $10,000 donation to ATF's Team Transplant cycling team, joined by Team Fresenius, which will include FMCNA staff members and patients. One of these patients is Shad Ireland, an Ironman triathlete, dialysis patient, and FMCNA national spokesperson, who biked 4,639 miles across the U.S. in 2009 on his “What Inspires You” bike tour to promote CKD education and awareness. Shad will also serve as the honorary head of Team Fresenius, racing under the Team Transplant banner.
"Fresenius Medical Care shares a common goal with the ATF to help educate the chronic kidney disease community, and we are pleased to support them with our sponsorship," said FMCNA Regional Vice President Joyce Dennis. “It’s also wonderful to see the enthusiasm and commitment from our clinical staff and executive team members who are both participating in the ride and volunteering at the event.”
The Subaru Elephant Rock Cycling Festival is open to all FMCNA employees, and participants can choose to ride 7, 25, 34, 62 or 100-mile stages. FMCNA will make a $25 donation to ATF on behalf of each employee who rides. FMCNA will also share a booth with the ATF at the festival site with information about home-based dialysis therapies, and its Treatment Options Program (TOPs) educational classes. TOPs sessions are open to the public at no cost, and are hosted regularly in the area to inform at-risk patients and their families about chronic kidney disease and all available treatments for kidney failure.
"Team Transplant was created to demonstrate the healthy, active lifestyle that organ recipients and living donors can lead after transplant. About 25 percent of our team members are transplant patients, several of whom generously gave the ‘Gift of Life’ by donating a kidney. We are grateful to Fresenius Medical Care and its employees for helping us get the message out at this year's Subaru Elephant Rock Cycling Festival," said ATF co-founder and executive director, Heidi A. Heltzel.
For more information about The Subaru Elephant Rock Cycling Festival, go to www.elephantrockride.com. To learn more about FMCNA, along with dialysis and treatment options visit www.ultracare-dialysis.com.
About Fresenius Medical Care
Fresenius Medical Care North America is a subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals undergoing dialysis because of chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 1,770,000 individuals worldwide. Through its network of 2,553 dialysis clinics in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to approximately 195,650 patients around the globe. Fresenius Medical Care is also the world's leading provider of dialysis products such as hemodialysis machines, dialyzers and related disposable products. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME, FME3) and the New York Stock Exchange (FMS, FMS-p).
For more information about FMCNA's U.S. network of more than 1,800 dialysis facilities, visit the Company's website at www.ultracare-dialysis.com (in English and Spanish). For more information about Fresenius Medical Care, visit the Company’s website: www.fmc-ag.com.
About American Transplant Foundation
Founded in 2005, the Denver-based American Transplant Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that works to increase the donation of organs and tissue to reduce the growing list of men, women, and children who are awaiting a lifesaving transplant. For more information about how the Foundation achieves its mission, and to register to become an organ donor, visit www.AmericanTransplantFoundation.org.
CONTACT:
Media contact:
Loomis Group
Nadia Aftab, 415-882-9494 / voice
[email protected]
or
Company contact:
Fresenius Medical Care
Tom Womack, 214-445-3118 / voice
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America Massachusetts
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