San Antonio - Polycystic kidney disease | PKD treatment research

With the help of our communities in cities across the country and beyond, we provide a forum for patients who want to join in the fight to find treatments and cure for PKD.

Connect with us to find out how you can make a difference in the lives of thousands in the U.S. and millions worldwide.

Walk for PKD - Your Way

Walk for PKD - Your Way! is an opportunity to join the nationwide Walk for PKD community in a way that caters to your schedule and interests while keeping things simple. Walk for PKD - Your Way! offers you the freedom to choose – how, when, and where you Walk for PKD. Participate as an individual or a team of loved ones, select a date and decide how you are going to Walk for PKD Your Way. How you raise awareness and funds for PKD research is up to you!

If you have questions, or would like to help with next year's walk, please reach out to us at walkforpkd@pkdcure.org.

Walk for PKD

Get Involved

Are you interested in helping us grow the San Antonio Community?

We are looking for volunteers to help us offer more opportunities in your local area. If you are interested in this opportunity to volunteer and further our shared vision to #endPKD, please complete our volunteer form and let us know how you would like to get involved.

If you have questions, please email us at volunteers@pkdcure.org.

If you have questions, or would like to help with next year's walk, please reach out to us at walkforpkd@pkdcure.org.

Now, as always, the PKD Foundation is committed to our mission of giving hope, advocating for patients, and building a community for all impacted by PKD. We'll continue supporting our community by providing important resources and timely updates on social media. If you have questions or need help navigating this unprecedented health crisis, we are here for you. Email or call (844) PKD-HOPE.

Peer Mentorship Program

If you’re looking for a shoulder to lean on or want to help others from the safety of your home, our Peer Mentor Program is a great resource:

Interested in connecting with a mentor? Please take a moment to fill out our mentee survey and our team will follow up with you via email or by phone.
Interested in becoming a peer mentor? Please complete our mentor application and a member of our staff will follow up with you by email or by phone.

Centers of Excellence

The PKD Foundation is excited to the announce the newest cohort of Centers of Excellence, Partner Clinics, and Pediatric Clinics. If you are looking for the right healthcare providers to help you manage living with PKD, visit our Centers of Excellence page to learn more about the program and to find a Center of Excellence, Partner Clinic, or Pediatric Clinic.

About Our Centers of Excellence

ADPKD Registry

There’s a new way ADPKD Registry participants can step up to provide hope today, and for future generations. The nation’s first dedicated ADPKD Registry is now also one of the first patient registries of any kind to integrate patient-provided health records. Share your health records through your provider’s online portal with a few simple steps on the ADPKD Registry.

The ADPKD Registry

Mark Ruffin

PKD Connect Ambassador

I volunteer as the San Antonio Community because of my wife Patti’s medical history of PKD (hers and her family). By engaging critical partners here in San Antonio, I can help others faced with the challenges of this disease, and improve chances of finding a cure. Without others engagement, nothing happens!

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Patti O’Grady Ruffin

Fundraising Ambassador

My paternal grandmother, father, two uncles, and two sisters lost their battle too young to PKD. After two years on dialysis due to PKD, a generous coworker came forwarded to donate her kidney to me in December, 2005. I have been blessed with this new lease on life and retirement (2009); and I knew I needed to step up as the volunteer Ambassador for the San Antonio Walk for PKD for 14 years. Now I have shifted my volunteer efforts as the Volunteer Fundraising Ambassador for San Antonio Community in an effort to ensure a better life for all living with PKD. A Cure is Our Finish Line. When people ask me why I volunteer, I have three words: best paycheck ever.

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Diane Biery, MD, MBA

Walk for PKD Ambassador

After completing my undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University, I graduated from Southwestern Medical School and completed Residency training in both Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology at the University of California San Francisco. After transitioning from private practice in 2012, I served as the Chief Quality Officer at a six-hospital system in South Texas before joining the Methodist Healthcare team as Chief Medical Officer at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in 2016. While serving in that role I was blessed to be able to support a world class kidney and liver Transplant program.

My family suffers from PKD and both my husband and daughter are affected. As someone whose loved ones are at risk, I am indebted to all those who work to strive for a cure while supporting those during their journey with kidney disease. My husband is a 20-year survivor of a successful living donor kidney transplant performed at MSTH and my daughter is taking Tolvaptan to prolong her kidney function. Both of these life-saving treatments were made possible by dedicated professionals supported by the volunteer community.

Now that I am retired I am joining the PKD community as a Co-Ambassador for the San Antonio annual PKD walk. It is my privilege to pay it forward and help make a difference in others’ lives.

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