In recognition of Donate Life Month this April, the National Kidney Foundation, Tessa Films and award-winning director Melissa Silverman have teamed up to launch a kidney donation awareness campaign aimed at inspiring hope and life-saving action. The new campaign, developed in collaboration with the NKF, brilliantly employs humor to demystify living kidney donation, a concept many people find daunting or unfamiliar. Through outreach, advocacy, and personal stories, the campaign seeks to encourage individuals to register, learn more, and consider the life-changing impact of organ donation.
Silverman, an award-winning director with a gift for turning ordinary moments into unforgettable and humorous experiences, turned her lens on a deeply personal and life-saving mission. Diagnosed with kidney failure in 2021, Melissa is now leveraging her comedic talent and creative vision with the “LIVING DONOR!” PSA campaign aimed at raising awareness about kidney health and the critical need for living kidney donation, in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation. The “LIVING DONOR!” PSA campaign features real living donors, bringing an authentic and often humorous perspective to a serious topic.
Melissa emphasized the urgency of this awareness, explaining, “It was staggering to me. So many people are sitting on the deceased donor waitlist. Their wait could be so much shorter if they knew how to look for a living donor and advocate for themselves.”
According to the National Kidney Foundation, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an escalating public health crisis in the United States, that tragically claims more lives annually than both breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Despite its widespread impact, CKD remains largely under-recognized.
Approximately 37 million US adults are estimated to have CKD, representing more than 1 in 7 (14%) of the adult population. A staggering 9 out of 10 adults with kidney disease (~90%) are unaware of their condition. Tragically, 12 people die every day while on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.
Melissa’s campaign seeks to transform these sobering statistics by empowering individuals with knowledge and encouraging proactive conversations about kidney health and living donation. Through her unique blend of humor and heartfelt storytelling, Melissa hopes to inspire a new wave of awareness and ultimately save lives.
Melissa collaborated with writer Shawn Dempewolff on the campaign and worked closely with NKF’s trusted leadership in kidney health and advocacy for its launch. The campaign aims to raise awareness, increase conversations about living donation, and empower individuals to consider living kidney donation to save lives.
“Living donation is one of the most powerful ways we can save lives,” said Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation and a kidney transplant recipient. “We are grateful to Melissa for using her platform to find a very creative way to bring greater awareness to this urgent need and to help patients feel empowered to advocate for themselves.”
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, CKD remains an under-recognized public health burden that impacts 1 in 7 adults, and 90 percent of those affected are unaware of their condition. Approximately 1 in 3 U.S. adults are at risk for CKD, but less than 20% are assessed with guideline-recommended testing, eGFR and uACR. 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 develop kidney failure. Hispanic and Native American people experience kidney failure at approximately double the rate of White people.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation 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 NKF, visit www.kidney.org.
About Tessa Films
We are a production studio that brings exciting ideas to life – for agencies, brands, not-for-profits, entertainment channels, and sometimes – well, sometimes, we do it just for fun.
