This Giving Smarter Guide is the culmination of a year-long effort to identify strategic philanthropic opportunities that can move the needle on unmet needs specific to kidney failure research and treatment. Kidney failure is an irreversible disease in which the kidneys can no longer support life. To live, patients suffering from kidney failure must initiate treatment to replace kidney function through dialysis or kidney transplantation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 300 people begin treatment for kidney failure every 24 hours in the United States. The quality of life (QOL) for these patients is severely impacted because their lives are forever changed.