I’m Rich Kellner, Founder of PKD-Free Alliance. My wife Jo had Polycystic Kidney Disease, as did her mother, her sister, our two kids and other relatives in the family. In all cases, their native kidneys failed by the age of 50. For 30 years we were told there was nothing to do but wait until her kidneys failed. I was fortunate to be a match so when her kidneys eventually did fail in 2014, I didn’t hesitate to donate my kidney to her.

We had seven great years before Jo needed another transplant. At that point we started challenging the conventional wisdom. We learned there are ways to slow the progression of PKD and to prevent it from being passed down to future generations.

After we lost Jo in 2021, to allow Jo’s legacy of warmth, strength and generosity to live on, it became my calling to help families who are suffering from PKD.

It’s not true that there’s “nothing to do but wait” for kidney failure and it’s PKD-Free’s mission to provide awareness and affordable access to solutions to end this disease. We are committed to ensuring that all children are born free of this disease, and we will focus on this until it is achieved.