Mike and Tamara talk with Della Major, an AKF Ambassador, Kidney Health Coach, teacher and life coach who is living with lupus nephritis. As a self-proclaimed “squawker”, Della is practiced in sharing her story of learning about both kidney disease and lupus while navigating the grief associated with this change in her health. She describes her initial resistance to starting dialysis, but how an experience with another patient at her center helped turn her mindset around. 

Della also talks about receiving a “high risk” kidney for her first transplant and the challenges associated with a treatment that is often talked about like a cure. Della explains how she is “here to change the game,” through educating her community, advocating for kidney legislation and sharing her story so others know they are not alone in their kidney disease journeys.  

More resources:

• Looped In on Lupus Nephritis 
• AKF Ambassador network 
• Become a Kidney Health Coach 
• Mental health and kidney disease 
• End-stage renal disease (ESRD) or kidney failure 
• Life after transplant 
• Health Insurance Premium Program (HIPP) 

Tamara and Mike are joined by Marc Coronel, the founder of Lifestyle Athletics, a former amateur professional boxer and a TEDx speaker. He is living with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) — a rare type of kidney disease that causes scarring on the glomeruli (the filters in your kidneys) — and is a kidney transplant recipient. The three talk about how surprised he was to learn he had kidney disease, and Marc explains how his training as a boxer has provided a framework for helping him push through the day-to-day challenges. 

They discuss his drive to get all the information he could about his health, how he went through the stages of grief after his diagnosis and how vital it is to find people who can relate in a way that no one else can (even your loved ones). Marc shares advice for others living with chronic illnesses like his and encourages them to be vocal, because silence nearly cost him everything.

More resources: 

• Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) 
• Genetic testing and counseling for kidney disease 
• AKF Ambassador network 
• Become a Kidney Health Coach 
• Mental health and kidney disease 
• Kidney biopsy 

Tamara Walker joins Tamara and Mike for a conversation about polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic condition that causes many cysts to grow inside your kidneys and can lead to kidney failure. Tamara shares how she was surprisingly diagnosed by her OBGYN after giving birth to her second son, the challenges she experienced with insurance coverage and how PKD factored into the difficult decision of moving from Virginia to Georgia. They also talk about how Tamara has become one of the most active patient advocates, as an AKF Ambassador and Kidney Health Coach, a speaker at AKF’s Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Summit and recipient of one of AKF’s first-ever Ambassador Community Engagement grants—all of which earned her the 2025 Hero of Hope award. 

Tamara gives the audience advice on navigating PKD, dealing with dismissive doctors and getting involved in kidney disease advocacy.  

More Resources:

• Polycystic kidney disease 
• Kidney cancer 
• AKF Ambassador network 
• Become a Kidney Health Coach 
• Genetic testing and counseling for kidney disease 
• Insurance and costs for dialysis 
• PKD Foundation 

Malkia White, an AKF Ambassador and member of AKF's Rare Kidney Disease Action Network (RKDAN), joins this episode of The Kidney Collective™ to talk about her journey living with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Malkia shares how she was diagnosed with "Berger's disease" (what IgAN was previously called) as a child but did not understand her disease until adulthood. After learning she was in kidney failure, she did extensive research on the subject and became a vocal advocate for herself and others.

She explains how her strong will to live and to fight to survive helped her persevere through the challenges of dialysis and waiting for a kidney transplant. She also tells Tamara and Mike how she started her social media campaign #ThatGirlNeedsAKidney while leaning on her village through it all, including family, friends and members of the rare kidney disease community. She emphasizes that "this illness has no face or look to it," and someone may look like the "picture of health" when they are struggling.  

More Resources:

• 'A Step Ahead of IgA Nephropathy' 
• 'We go through a lot': Life with a rare kidney disease 
• Kidney donation and transplant 
• Life after transplant: Rejection prevention and healthy tips  
• Kidney health research and innovations 
• Mental health and kidney disease 
• Rare Kidney Disease Action Network 
• Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Project 
• IgA Nephropathy Foundation 

In honor of APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease (AMKD) Awareness Day, this special episode of The Kidney Collective™ features a conversation between AKF President and CEO LaVarne A. Burton and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Alonzo Mourning. After they discuss the Miami Heat’s impressive showing on March 10, the two discuss his journey with kidney disease. They talk about how he pushed through symptoms to win a gold medal and Olympic Basketball Player of the Year at the Summer Olympics in Syndey, Australia; how his strong family ties led to a second cousin donating his kidney to Alonzo; and how the relationship of trust he built with his nephrologist led to him participating in a study that ultimately found the connection between APOL1 gene variants and kidney disease like his. Alonzo emphasizes how he believes the struggles he has gone through with kidney disease showed him he was “not just here for basketball” and gave him the amazing opportunity to help others through service and education. LaVarne and Alonzo discuss his work on the Power Forward campaign with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and how he wants to encourage others facing kidney disease not to blame themselves, but to be proactive in their health journeys.  

This episode is sponsored by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

More resources:

• AMKD Awareness Day 
• APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease 
• APOL1 genetic counselor guide 
• Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) 

The Kidney Collective™ co-hosts Tamara Ruggiero and Mike Spigler are joined by Vincent Ko, founder of KidneyFuture (formerly the CAKUT Foundation), to discuss congenital abnormalities of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT). As a parent of a child living with CAKUT, Vincent shares how he felt learning about his daughter's diagnosis before she was even born and how he has used his personal experiences to create KidneyFuture. 

The three discuss how CAKUT differs from other types of kidney diseases and the unique challenges people living with CAKUT face, including navigating the transition from being a pediatric kidney patient to an adult patient. Vincent also shares how he discovered the two greatest desires of pediatric nephrologists and of CAKUT patients/parents are aligned: (1) a better understanding of whose CAKUT progresses and whose doesn't and (2) more therapies that are safe and effective for children living with CAKUT. He also explains to Tamara and Mike how the kidney community may not be too far off from those goals.

More resources: 

• Congenital Abnormalities of the Kidneys and Urinary Tract (CAKUT) 
• Caring for someone with kidney disease 
• Kidney disease in children 
• Camp Connections
• Kidney Kitchen® 
• Genetic testing and counseling for kidney disease 

AKF President and CEO LaVarne Burton kicks off the first episode of The Kidney Collective™'s new season, "Rare Voices, Relatable Stories," with a conversation with Donna Cryer, founder of the Global Liver Institute, a global nonprofit patient advocacy organization. Donna lives with a rare autoimmune liver disease, received a liver transplant more than 30 years ago and has stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD). Donna and LaVarne discuss the ways that liver and kidney health are connected and how Donna's difficulty getting an accurate diagnosis is reflective of many people living with a rare disease — especially if they are people of color. Donna also describes how her faith, positivity and perseverance through the years have allowed her to be a fierce patient advocate, to doggedly pursue her career aspirations and to navigate the transition to being labeled "patient" with grace and humor — even if it means taking advantage of your jaundice to create an unforgettable Halloween costume. Donna and LaVarne also discuss ways that Donna believes the U.S. transplant system needs to change and how Donna's connections to the kidney community helped prepare her to manage her CKD.  

Donna has recently stepped back as CEO of the Global Liver Institute and just moved with her husband to Pennsylvania to be closer to family.  

More resources:

• Rare Kidney Disease Action Network
• Rare kidney diseases: Understanding, support and solutions
• Global Liver Institute
• Join our Advocacy Network
• Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease Project
• Newly diagnosed chronic kidney disease (CKD)
• Guide: Talking about your rare kidney disease
• Guide: Your Guide to Kidney Transplant

Our second season of The Kidney Collective™ features conversations about rare kidney diseases and the shared experiences that connect the entire kidney community. Watch the teaser for a sneak preview of what’s ahead in 2026!

In this episode of The Kidney Collective™, Tamara and Mike chat with living kidney donor Marnisha Mintlow about her decision to donate her kidney, her surgery and recovery, the barriers and fears that may prevent people from becoming donors, and the importance of more transparency around the kidney donation process. Marnisha emphasizes the need for more support and advocacy for living donor rights and protections, and the significance of finding help and a found family within the kidney community.

Marnisha is a Marine Corps veteran and a current educator living in Santa Clarita, California, who recently graduated with her doctorate in education from the University of Dayton. In 2016, she made the selfless choice to become a living kidney donor.

More resources: 

• Kidney donation and transplant
• Your Guide to Kidney Transplant
• Types of living donor kidney transplants
• Living Donor Protection Report Card
• Financial support for living kidney donors

In this episode of The Kidney Collective™, Tamara and Mike talk with Leigh-Ann Williams about her dialysis journey—from in-center to home dialysis. They discuss the benefits of home dialysis, including the more flexible schedule, shorter treatment times and reduced fluid restrictions compared to in-center dialysis. Leigh-Ann also describes some of the challenges of home dialysis, from space for supplies to learning to navigate the many alarms, but encourages others considering it to not be intimidated. The three dive into how Leigh-Ann crashed into dialysis but eventually came to understand her diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), lupus and APOL-1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD). Despite her kidneys failing at such a young age, Leigh-Ann has not allowed dialysis to slow her down! She has earned two masters degrees and traveled as far as Hawaii and the Bahamas and hopes to fulfill her goal of going on a cruise soon—all while receiving dialysis treatments.

Leigh-Ann Williams is an AKF Ambassador and Kidney Health Coach from New Orleans who lives with kidney failure and is on home dialysis. She is an active advocate for the kidney community and was honored for her great work as the 2021 AKF Hero of Hope.

More resources:

• Home dialysis
• Dialysis at Home 2025
• Acute kidney injury
• Choosing a hemodialysis treatment plan
• Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
• APOL1-mediated kidney disease
• Unknown Causes of Kidney Disease (UCKD) Project
• Lupus
• Genetic testing