III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 241 

Designating the period beginning on September 13, 2009, and ending on 

September 19, 2009, as ‘‘National Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness 

Week’’, and supporting the goals and ideals of a National Polycystic 

Kidney Disease Awareness Week to raise public awareness and understanding of polycystic kidney disease and the impact polycystic kidney 

disease has on patients and future generations of their families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2009 

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. HATCH) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AUGUST 7, 2009 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating the period beginning on September 13, 2009, 

and ending on September 19, 2009, as ‘‘National Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Week’’, and supporting 

the goals and ideals of a National Polycystic Kidney 

Disease Awareness Week to raise public awareness and 

understanding of polycystic kidney disease and the impact polycystic kidney disease has on patients and future 

generations of their families. 

Whereas polycystic kidney disease, known as ‘‘PKD’’, is 1 of 

the most prevalent life-threatening genetic diseases in the 

United States; 


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SRES 241 ATS 

Whereas polycystic kidney disease is a severe, dominantly inherited disease that has a devastating impact, in both 

human and economic terms, affecting equally people of 

all ages, races, sexes, nationalities, geographic locations, 

and income levels; 

Whereas there are 2 hereditary forms of polycystic kidney 

disease, with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) affecting 1 in 500 people worldwide, including 600,000 patients with polycystic kidney disease in 

the United States, according to prevalence estimates by 

the National Institutes of Health; 

Whereas in families in which 1 or both parents have ADPKD 

there is a 50-percent chance that the parents will pass 

the disease to their children; 

Whereas autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease 

(ARPKD), a rarer form of PKD, affects 1 in 20,000 live 

births and frequently leads to early death; 

Whereas in families in which both parents carry ARPKD 

there is a 25-percent chance that the parents will pass 

the disease to their children; 

Whereas, in addition to patients directly affected by polycystic kidney disease, countless additional friends, loved 

ones, family members, colleagues, and caregivers must 

shoulder the physical, emotional, and financial burdens of 

polycystic kidney disease; 

Whereas polycystic kidney disease, for which there is no 

treatment or cure, is the leading cause of kidney failure 

resulting from a genetic disease, and 1 of the 4 leading 

causes of kidney failure in the United States; 

Whereas the vast majority of patients with polycystic kidney 

disease have kidney failure at the age of 53, on average, 


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SRES 241 ATS 

causing a severe strain on dialysis and kidney transplantation resources and on the delivery of health care in the 

United States, as the largest segment of the population 

of the United States, the baby boomers, continues to age; 

Whereas end-stage renal disease is one of the fastest growing 

components of the Medicare budget, and polycystic kidney disease contributes to the cost with an estimated 

$2,000,000,000 budgeted annually for dialysis, kidney 

transplantation, and related therapies; 

Whereas polycystic kidney disease is a systemic disease that 

causes damage to the kidneys and the cardiovascular, endocrine, hepatic, and gastrointestinal systems; 

Whereas polycystic kidney disease instills in patients a fear 

of an unknown future with a life-threatening genetic disease, and apprehension over possible genetic discrimination; 

Whereas the severity of the symptoms of polycystic kidney 

disease and the limited public awareness of the disease 

cause many patients to fail to recognize the presence of 

the disease, to forego regular visits to physicians, and not 

to receive good health or therapeutic management that 

would help avoid more severe complications when kidney 

failure occurs; 

Whereas people suffering from chronic, life-threatening diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease, are more frequently predisposed to depression and the resulting consequences of depression because of anxiety over the possible pain, suffering, and premature death that people 

with polycystic kidney disease may face; 

Whereas the Senate and taxpayers of the United States want 

treatments and cures for disease and hope to see results 


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SRES 241 ATS 

from investments in research conducted by the National 

Institutes of Health and from initiatives such as the National Institutes of Health Roadmap to the Future; 

Whereas polycystic kidney disease is an example of how collaboration, technological innovation, scientific momentum, 

and public-private partnerships can— 

(1) generate therapeutic interventions that directly 

benefit the people suffering from polycystic kidney disease; 

(2) save billions of Federal dollars under Medicare, 

Medicaid, and other programs for dialysis, kidney transplants, immunosuppressant drugs, and related therapies; 

and 

(3) allow several thousand openings on the kidney 

transplant waiting list; 

Whereas improvements in diagnostic technology and the expansion of scientific knowledge about polycystic kidney 

disease have led to the discovery of the 3 primary genes 

that cause polycystic kidney disease, and the 3 primary 

protein products of the genes, and to the understanding 

of cell structures and signaling pathways that cause cyst 

growth that has produced multiple polycystic kidney disease clinical drug trials; 

Whereas there are thousands of volunteers nationwide dedicated to expanding essential research, fostering public 

awareness and understanding, educating patients and 

their families about polycystic kidney disease to improve 

treatment and care, providing appropriate moral support, 

and encouraging people to become organ donors; and 

Whereas volunteers engage in an annual national awareness 

event held during the third week of September, making 

that week an appropriate time to recognize National 


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SRES 241 ATS 

Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Week: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the period beginning on Sep3 tember 13, 2009, and ending on September 19, 

4 2009, as ‘‘National Polycystic Kidney Disease 

5 Awareness Week’’; 

6 (2) supports the goals and ideals of a national 

7 week to raise public awareness and understanding of 

8 polycystic kidney disease; 

9 (3) recognizes the need for additional research 

10 into a cure for polycystic kidney disease; and 

11 (4) encourages the people of the United States 

12 and interested groups— 

13 (A) to support National Polycystic Kidney 

14 Disease Awareness Week through appropriate 

15 ceremonies and activities; 

16 (B) to promote public awareness of poly17 cystic kidney disease; and 

18 (C) to foster understanding of the impact 

19 of the disease on patients and their families. 

Æ 


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