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US Kidney Statistics

Kidney Disease Statistics in Utah, USA

Utah faces an outsized kidney disease burden relative to its regional peers. The state records the highest chronic kidney disease (CKD) mortality rate among all western states and ranks 6th nationally in self-reported kidney disease prevalence. More than 76,000 Utahns currently live with CKD, and the number living with kidney failure has grown by more than 45% over the past decade, reaching nearly 4,800 people in 2026. Diabetes and high blood pressure — both preventable conditions — account for approximately 73–77% of all kidney failure cases in the state.

This article consolidates available statistical data on kidney-related conditions in Utah across five areas: chronic kidney disease prevalence, mortality, and costs; kidney failure (end-stage renal disease) trends and causes; kidney transplantation, including transplant center performance and waiting list data; kidney and renal pelvis cancer incidence and mortality; and financial assistance available to kidney patients.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Prevalence and Risk

CKD is a progressive condition that can advance to kidney failure if undetected or untreated. Two reporting periods show significant growth in the number of Utahns affected.

Indicator	2022	2025
Utahns with CKD	More than 60,000 (1 in 7)	More than 76,000
Utahns at high risk	1 in 3	1 in 5

Additional Key Facts

CKD was the 10th leading cause of death in Utah in 2020
3.3% of Utah adults reported ever being told by a health professional that they had kidney disease (excluding kidney stones, bladder infections, and incontinence); Utah ranks 6th nationally on this measure
65% of all CKD cases are caused by diabetes or high blood pressure

The estimated number of Utahns with CKD grew by more than 26% between reporting periods — from over 60,000 to over 76,000. Ranking 6th nationally in self-reported kidney disease confirms Utah’s elevated burden.

Comorbidities

CKD is frequently accompanied by serious chronic conditions that complicate treatment and accelerate disease progression.

Diabetes: nearly 1 in 13
Prior heart attack: 12%
Coronary heart disease: close to 12%
Prior stroke: more than 1 in 8

The overlap between CKD and cardiovascular conditions is clinically significant. More than one in eight CKD patients in Utah has had a stroke, and approximately 12% have coronary heart disease or a prior heart attack.

Screening and Diagnosis Challenges

Early detection of CKD is essential for slowing or preventing progression to kidney failure, yet significant gaps persist throughout the screening-to-diagnosis pipeline.

65% of all CKD cases are caused by diabetes or high blood pressure
Nearly 60% of patients with both diabetes and high blood pressure are not screened for CKD (2025 data)
50% of patients who are screened for CKD are not diagnosed and followed up with
Lab results are frequently present in electronic health records but are not discussed with patients
Simple blood and urine tests are sufficient to detect signs of CKD
Early detection and treatment can slow or prevent the progression of CKD
Home dialysis treatments are underutilized; wider adoption could improve quality of life for Stage 5 patients

The screening gap is striking: nearly 60% of patients at highest risk — those with both diabetes and high blood pressure — are never screened.

Kidney Failure (End-Stage Renal Disease / ESRD)

Population Living with Kidney Failure: Trends Over Time

The number of Utahns living with kidney failure has grown consistently across successive reporting years, driven primarily by rising rates of its two main causes.

Year Reported	Total with Kidney Failure	On Dialysis	Living with Transplant
2021	4,042	2,169 (53.7%)	1,873 (46.3%)
2023	4,357	2,313 (53.1%)	2,044 (46.9%)
2025	4,632	2,407 (51.9%)	2,225 (48.1%)
2026	4,797	2,453 (51.1%)	2,344 (48.9%)

From 2021 to 2026, the total kidney failure population grew by approximately 19%.

New Cases Diagnosed Each Year

New cases of kidney failure are diagnosed annually in Utah. The large majority of newly diagnosed patients begin dialysis rather than receiving a transplant.

Diagnosis Year	New Cases	Begєan Dialysis	Received Transplant
2018	570	530 (93.0%)	40 (7.0%)
2020	654	611 (93.4%)	43 (6.6%)
2022	684	619 (90.5%)	65 (9.5%)
2023	647	587 (90.7%)	60 (9.3%)

More than 90% of newly diagnosed kidney failure patients in each reported year began dialysis rather than receiving an immediate transplant.

Leading Causes

Kidney failure in Utah is predominantly linked to two largely preventable chronic conditions. Together they account for nearly three quarters of all cases.

Diabetes: 43–47% of kidney failure cases (varies by reporting year)
High blood pressure: 30% of kidney failure cases
Combined: approximately 73–77% of all kidney failure cases in Utah

Because diabetes and high blood pressure together account for the large majority of kidney failure cases, and both are preventable and manageable through lifestyle changes and medical treatment, effective public health strategies targeting these diseases offer the most direct path to reducing Utah’s future kidney failure burden.

Risk Factors in the Utah Population

Several health indicators in the general Utah population reflect elevated risk for developing kidney failure.

Diagnosed with diabetes: 8%
Have high blood pressure: 25.8%
Self-report as obese: 29.2%

Nearly 26% of all Utahns — more than one in four — have high blood pressure, which alone causes 30% of kidney failure cases.

Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer

Utah vs. United States

Historically, Utah has had lower kidney cancer incidence than the national average — a favorable position contrasting with other cancer sites where Utah rates exceed U.S. figures.

Incidence and Comparative Rates — All Persons, 2009–2013 (per 100,000)

Metric	Utah Rate	Utah 95% CI	U.S. Rate	% Difference vs. U.S.
Incidence	13.6	(12.9, 14.3)	16.0	−15.0%
Mortality	3.6	(3.2, 4.0)	4.3	−12.6%

Utah vs. U.S. — 2013 Comparison Only

Incidence: 15% below U.S. average
Mortality: 3% below U.S. average

Utah’s kidney cancer incidence has historically run about 15% below the national average, and mortality about 12.6% below.

Incidence and Mortality by Sex

Males develop kidney cancer at approximately double the rate of females in both Utah and the U.S. More recent data shows Utah male incidence is rising while the national rate is falling.

Rates by Sex, 2009–2013 (per 100,000)

Metric	Utah Male	U.S. Male	%Difference vs. U.S.	Utah Female	U.S. Female	% Difference vs. U.S.
Incidence	17.9 (16.8–19.1)	22.0	−18.4%	9.8 (9.0–10.6)	11.0	−10.9%
Mortality	5.1 (4.4–5.7)	5.5	−6.8%	2.3 (2.0–2.8)	2.3	−2.0%

2013 Annual Case Counts

Male: 228 invasive cases; 48 deaths
Female: 121 invasive cases; 26 deaths
Total: 349 invasive cases; 74 deaths

More Recent Statewide Incidence (2018–2022)

Group	Utah Rate (per 100,000)	Utah 95% CI	U.S. Rate	Utah 5-Year Trend
Male — All Stages	20.6	(19.5, 21.7)	23.7	Rising (+2.6%/yr)
Female — Late Stage	2.7	(2.4, 3.1)	3.1	—
Both Sexes — Late Stage	4.4	(4.0, 4.7)	5.0	—

Utah male kidney cancer incidence is rising at 2.6% per year while the national rate is falling at 1.1% per year — a diverging trend that could erode Utah’s historically favorable position.

Incidence and Mortality by Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White (per 100,000), 2009–2013

Metric	Utah Rate	Utah 95% CI	U.S. Rate
Incidence	14.7	(13.6, 16.0)	17.8
Mortality	3.6	(3.2, 3.9)	3.9

Hispanic (per 100,000), 2009–2013

Incidence: Utah Hispanic rate 17.0 (95% CI: 14.0–20.5); U.S. Hispanic rate 15.5
Mortality: Utah Hispanic rate 4.7 (95% CI: 3.0–6.9); U.S. Hispanic rate 3.6

A meaningful racial/ethnic disparity exists within Utah. Non-Hispanic white Utahns have lower kidney cancer incidence and mortality than the national average for their group.

Cancer Site Rankings and Geographic Distribution

In 2013, kidney cancer ranked among the top 10 most frequent cancer sites for both sexes in Utah.

Sex	Ranking Among All Cancer Sites	Invasive Cases (2013)	Incidence Rate*	Deaths (2013)
Women	10th	121	9.8	26
Men	7th	228	17.9	48

(* Rate per 100,000 population)

Metropolitan vs. Non-Metropolitan Incidence (2009–2013)

Metropolitan counties: 306 new cases (2013); incidence rate 13.6 per 100,000 (95% CI: 12.8–14.3)
Non-metropolitan counties: 49 new cases (2013); incidence rate 14.0 per 100,000 (95% CI: 12.1–16.1)

Kidney cancer ranks higher among male cancers (7th) than female cancers (10th), consistent with the roughly 2:1 incidence ratio.

Cancer Incidence by County

Late Stage — Both Sexes (2018–2022)

Late-stage diagnosis is associated with substantially worse treatment outcomes. Utah’s statewide late-stage rate (27.4%) is below the national average (29.1%).

County	Rural/Urban	Rate (per 100,000)	95% CI	Avg Annual Count	% Late Stage
Utah (Statewide)	—	4.4	(4.0, 4.7)	130	27.4%
United States	—	5.0	(5.0, 5.0)	20,556	29.1%
Box Elder County	Rural	6.2	(3.6, 9.9)	3	33.3%
Cache County	Urban	4.8	(3.1, 7.1)	5	26.0%
Washington County	Urban	4.7	(3.6, 6.2)	12	35.7%
Salt Lake County	Urban	4.5	(3.9, 5.1)	49	29.2%
Weber County	Urban	4.4	(3.3, 5.7)	11	22.1%
Utah County	Urban	3.8	(3.0, 4.7)	16	24.3%
Davis County	Urban	3.5	(2.6, 4.6)	11	21.2%

Washington County has the highest proportion of late-stage kidney cancer diagnoses (35.7%) among all reported counties, followed by Box Elder County (33.3%).

All Stages — Males (2018–2022)

Rising incidence among Utah men is evident at both the statewide and county levels, in sharp contrast to the national trend.

County	Rural/Urban	Rate (per 100,000)	95% CI	Avg Annual Count	5-Year Trend
Utah (Statewide)	—	20.6	(19.5, 21.7)	299	Rising (+2.6%/yr)
United States	—	23.7	(23.6, 23.8)	45,124	Falling (−1.1%/yr)
Sanpete County	Rural	31.1	(19.3, 47.4)	5	N/A
Sevier County	Rural	29.1	(17.5, 46.0)	4	N/A
Cache County	Urban	26.3	(20.2, 33.6)	13	N/A
Box Elder County	Rural	25.4	(17.5, 35.7)	7	N/A
Weber County	Urban	25.1	(21.2, 29.5)	31	Rising (+2.6%/yr)
Iron County	Rural	24.2	(16.3, 34.5)	6	N/A
Tooele County	Urban	24.0	(16.8, 33.2)	8	N/A
Salt Lake County	Urban	20.1	(18.4, 22.0)	105	Rising (+2.2%/yr)
Utah County	Urban	19.9	(17.2, 22.8)	42	Rising (+2.9%/yr)
Davis County	Urban	19.1	(16.1, 22.5)	30	Rising (+2.3%/yr)
Washington County	Urban	18.5	(14.9, 22.7)	21	Rising (+1.9%/yr)
Summit County	Rural	16.2	(10.2, 25.1)	5	N/A

Among counties with statistically measurable trends, all are rising — ranging from +1.9% (Washington County) to +2.9% (Utah County) per year.

Late Stage — Females (2018–2022)

Female late-stage kidney cancer incidence in Utah is below the national average across all reporting counties.

County	Rural/Urban	Rate (per 100,000)	95% CI	Avg Annual Count	% Late Stage
Utah (Statewide)	—	2.7	(2.4, 3.1)	42	24.3%
United States	—	3.1	(3.1, 3.1)	6,720	26.4%
Utah County	Urban	2.9	(2.0, 4.1)	7	28.0%
Salt Lake County	Urban	2.8	(2.3, 3.5)	17	26.9%
Davis County	Urban	2.6	(1.6, 4.0)	4	18.0%
Weber County	Urban	2.5	(1.4, 4.2)	3	16.7%

Utah women’s late-stage kidney cancer rate (2.7 per 100,000) is below the national average (3.1). Weber County has the lowest late-stage proportion among females (16.7%), while Utah County has the highest (28%).

Kidney Transplants in Utah

Transplant Volumes and Waiting List Trends

Despite significant growth in transplant numbers, only approximately 1 in 2 patients on the waiting list receives a kidney transplant in any given year. The waiting list itself has also grown substantially.

Year	Transplants Performed	Waiting List Size	Volume Increase vs. ~10 Years Prior
2020	317	565	—
2022	348	661 (as of Feb. 2023)	+110.9% from 2012
2024	444	809	+112% from 2014
2025	449	852	+117% from 2015

Utah has more than doubled its annual transplant volume over the past decade. However, the waiting list grew from 565 in 2020 to 852 in 2025 — a 51% increase — outpacing transplant capacity.

Living Donor vs. Deceased Donor Transplants

Both types of donation have increased, with living donor transplants growing at a faster rate and representing an increasing share of total transplants.

Year	Living Donor	Deceased Donor	Total	LD Increase vs. ~10 Years Prior
2022	93 (26.7%)	255 (73.3%)	348	+50% from 2012
2024	122 (27.5%)	322 (72.5%)	444	+65% from 2014
2025	136 (30.3%)	313 (69.7%)	449	+84% from 2015

Living donor transplants have grown by 84% compared to roughly a decade ago, substantially outpacing the growth in total transplant volume.

Transplant Centers

Donor Programs

Three transplant centers operate in Utah. The table below shows their National Kidney Registry (NKR) transplant volume and participation in key donor programs.

Feature	Intermountain Medical Center	University of Utah Hospital	Primary Children’s MC
NKR Transplants (Last 12 Mo)	52	34	0
Deceased Kidney Donor Priority	✓	✓	✗
Living Donor Kidney Priority	✓	✓	✗
Donor Shield NKR	✓	✓	✗
NKR Remote Donation	✓	✓	✗
Voucher Program	✓	✓	✗
NKR Member Center	✓	✓	✗
Equal Access Commitment	✓	✗	✗
Donor Referral Network	✓	✓	✗
Kidney for Life	✓	✗	✗
Donor Care Network	✓	✗	✗
Nutcracker Network	✗	✗	✗

Intermountain Medical Center leads Utah’s donor program with 52 NKR transplants in the most recent 12-month period and participates in the broadest range of programs — including Equal Access Commitment, Kidney for Life, and Donor Care Network, which are not offered at the University of Utah.

Recipient Programs

The following table covers recipient-side metrics for the reporting period April 2025–March 2026.

Metric	Intermountain Medical Center	University of Utah Hospital	Primary Children’s MC
Kidney for Life	Yes	No	No
Low Eplet Transplants (Last 12 Mo)	26	11	0
NKR Transplants (Last 12 Mo)	52	34	0
NKR Living Donor Tx (Prior Year)	67	70	5
Living Donor Tx (Prior Year, Cumulative)	1,487	1,312	114
NKR % Living Donor	5%	6%	5%
Patient Microsites	Yes	No	No
Microsite Center of Excellence	Yes	No	No
Non-Steroidal Protocol	No	Yes	Unknown
Voucher Program	Yes	Yes	No
NKR Member Center	Yes	Yes	No
Equal Access Commitment	Yes	No	No

Both adult centers have extensive living donor transplant programs — Intermountain with 1,487 and University of Utah with 1,312 prior-year transplants.

Adult Transplant Outcomes by Center

Both adult centers achieve strong 1-year outcomes, with differences becoming more apparent at the 3-year mark, particularly for deceased donor transplants.

Living Donor (LD) Outcomes

Center	LD 1-Yr Graft Survival	LD 3-Yr Graft Survival	LD 1-Yr Patient Survival	LD 3-Yr Patient Survival
Intermountain Medical Center	98%	97%	100%	99%
University of Utah Hospital	98%	92%	98%	96%

Deceased Donor (DD) Outcomes

Center	DD 1-Yr Graft Survival	DD 3-Yr Graft Survival	DD 1-Yr Patient Survival	DD 3-Yr Patient Survival
Intermountain Medical Center	96%	90%	98%	94%
University of Utah Hospital	94%	85%	98%	89%

(LD = Living Donor · DD = Deceased Donor)

One-year outcomes are strong and very similar at both centers. By 3 years, differences are more pronounced: Intermountain achieves 97% living donor graft survival vs. University of Utah’s 92%, and 90% vs. 85% for deceased donor graft survival.

Pediatric Transplant Outcomes

Primary Children’s Medical Center is Utah’s only pediatric kidney transplant center. Its outcomes for pediatric transplants are exceptional.

1-year graft survival: 100% (living donor), 100% (deceased donor)
3-year graft survival: 100% (living donor), 90% (deceased donor)
1-year patient survival: 100% (living donor), 100% (deceased donor)
3-year patient survival: 100% (living donor), 100% (deceased donor)

All 1-year survival measures at Primary Children’s — for both graft and patient — are 100%.

Kidney Disease and Kidney and Renal Pelvis Mortality

CKD Mortality Rates

Utah holds the highest age-adjusted CKD mortality rate among all western states. Data from two reporting periods shows this position has not changed, and the rate has slightly increased.

2025 CKD Age-Adjusted Mortality Rate (per 100,000)

State	Rate
Utah	13.8
New Mexico	12.9
Wyoming	10.6
Montana	10.4
California	10.3
Nevada	8.5
Colorado	8.5
Arizona	7.8
Oregon	7.6
Idaho	6.6
Washington	5.3

2022 CKD Age-Adjusted Mortality Rate (per 100,000)

State	Rate
Utah	13.4
New Mexico	12.3
Montana	10.6
California	9.6
Nevada	8.9
Wyoming	8.3
Idaho	8.2
Arizona	7.9
Colorado	7.7
Oregon	6.9

Utah’s CKD mortality rate rose from 13.4 to 13.8 between periods while remaining the highest in the western region.

Kidney Disease Death Rates by County

The following data covers death rates from nephritis and nephrosis across Utah counties, 2019–2023, for all races including Hispanic/Latino, both sexes, and all ages.

Utah overall rate: 14.1 per 100,000 (95% CI: 13.4–14.8); average annual count of 371 deaths; a separate summary statistic reports 411 deaths; recent 5-year trend is falling (−2.6 per year)
U.S. overall rate: 13.4 per 100,000; trend is stable (0.0)

County	Rate (per 100,000)	95% CI	Avg Annual Count	Recent 5-Year Trend
Uintah	35.3	(26.3, 46.2)	11	N/A
Tooele	21.3	(15.6, 28.2)	10	N/A
Box Elder	20.5	(15.3, 26.9)	11	N/A
Sevier	20.4	(13.0, 30.5)	5	N/A
Iron	19.3	(14.0, 25.9)	9	N/A
Utah County	16.3	(14.5, 18.3)	60	Stable (−3.9)
Washington	15.5	(13.5, 17.8)	44	Rising (+2.7)
Weber	15.0	(12.8, 17.4)	34	Stable (+0.9)
Davis	14.2	(12.2, 16.3)	39	Stable (−2.2)
Carbon	12.7	(7.2, 21.1)	3	N/A
Salt Lake	11.8	(10.8, 12.8)	110	Stable (0.0)
Cache	11.4	(8.5, 14.8)	11	N/A

County-level variation is extreme. Uintah County’s rate (35.3) is more than twice the state average and more than three times Salt Lake County’s rate (11.8), the lowest reported.

Kidney Cancer Mortality

Utah’s kidney cancer death rate is below the national average. The annual percent change in kidney cancer mortality over the period 2000–2023 was −0.4% (95% CI: −1.5 to 0.9), classified as stable.

Statewide and National Context

Utah overall rate: 3.0 per 100,000 (95% CI: 2.7–3.3); average annual count of 86 deaths; stable trend (−0.4%)
U.S. overall rate: 3.4 per 100,000; falling trend (−1.4%)

Cancer Death Rates by County (2019–2023)

County	Rural/Urban	Rate (per 100,000)	95% CI	Avg Annual Count	5-Year Trend
Utah County	Urban	3.6	(2.8, 4.5)	14	Stable (+2.1%)
Weber County	Urban	3.5	(2.5, 4.7)	9	Stable (−0.8%)
Cache County	Urban	3.0	(1.7, 4.8)	3	N/A
Salt Lake County	Urban	2.8	(2.3, 3.3)	28	Stable (−1.0%)
Davis County	Urban	2.7	(1.9, 3.6)	8	Falling (−3.6%)
Washington County	Urban	2.6	(1.8, 3.7)	7	Stable (−1.6%)

(Sorted by average annual count. All races including Hispanic, both sexes, all ages.)

Utah County has the highest kidney cancer death rate among reporting counties (3.6 per 100,000).

Financial Burden

Financial Assistance for Kidney Patients

AKF Grants: Trends Over Time

Kidney failure is classified as a disability, and dialysis functions as life support. More than 80% of dialysis patients are unable to work. The American Kidney Fund (AKF) provides grants to help low-income patients afford insurance premiums and other health care costs not covered by insurance.

Year	Utahns Receiving AKF Grants	Total AKF Assistance to Utah
2020	166	$678,000
2022	166	$633,350
2024	174	$771,608
2025	252	Not reported

Profile of AKF-Assisted Patients

Indicator	Detail
Average patient income	Below $25,000/year
Average dialysis out-of-pocket costs	Over $10,000/year
Minority patients (total)	More than 60%
— Black	34.7%
— Hispanic/Latino	20.9%
— Native American, Asian, or Pacific Islander	5.2%

The number of Utahns receiving AKF grants grew by 52% from 2020 to 2025, and total grant funding reached $771,608 in 2024.

CKD Stages and Annual Treatment Costs

CKD progresses through five stages, with financial costs rising dramatically at each level.

Stage	Description	Annual Cost/Person	% of Median Family Income	% of Median Individual Income
Stage 3	Moderate kidney damage	$16,000	21.56%	51.64%
Stage 4	Moderate to severe damage; excess waste builds up in blood	$30,000	40.43%	96.82%
Stage 5	Severe damage; kidneys near or at failure	$70,000	94.34%	225.91%
Dialysis	Kidneys have failed; medical filtration required	$90,323	121.73%	291.5%

Annual treatment costs at Stage 5 and dialysis far exceed the median individual income. Dialysis costs alone are nearly three times the median individual income annually.

Insurance Coverage of AKF Recipients

The following data shows the insurance types held by Americans receiving AKF charitable premium assistance in two reporting years.

2022 Insurance Breakdown

Medicare Part B: 40.9%
Medigap: 27.2%
Commercial Employer Group Plans (including COBRA): 17.7%
Medicare Advantage: 1.3%

2024 Insurance Breakdown

Medigap: 27.3%
Commercial Employer Group Plans (incl. COBRA): 20.1%
Medicare Part B: 25.0%
Medicare Advantage: 0.6%

Between 2022 and 2024, the share of AKF recipients with Medicare Part B fell substantially — from 40.9% to 25.0% — while the proportion with commercial employer group plans increased from 17.7% to 20.1%.

Medicare Statistics

Medicare coverage data provides a focused view of the kidney patient population in Utah and the cost implications of different treatment paths.

Key Indicators

Medicare patients with CKD diagnosed: 23,940
Medicare patients on dialysis: 1,708
Kidney patients on transplant waitlist: 551
Kidney transplants performed in 2020: 298
Patients who died while on waitlist in 2020: 19

Average Annual Medicare Cost by Patient Status

Patient Type	Annual Cost
Pre-kidney failure	$23,558
Dialysis patient	$90,323
Transplant (after first year)	$25,942

The cost comparison makes a compelling economic case for expanding transplant access: a dialysis patient costs Medicare more than three times what a post-first-year transplant patient costs ($90,323 vs. $25,942 annually — a difference of over $64,000 per year).

Conclusion

Utah’s kidney disease burden is large, costly, and growing. CKD affects more than 76,000 Utahns — a population that has grown substantially between reporting periods — yet nearly 60% of those at highest risk are never screened, and half of those who are screened do not receive proper follow-up. Since diabetes and high blood pressure together account for approximately 73–77% of kidney failure cases, early intervention in these two conditions holds the greatest potential for bending the curve. The financial consequences of late-stage disease are severe: treatment costs rise from $16,000 per year at Stage 3 to $90,323 at dialysis — amounts that exceed the median individual income by nearly three times — and more than 80% of dialysis patients are unable to work, compounding the medical crisis with financial hardship.

On the transplantation front, Utah has made real progress. Annual transplant volume has more than doubled over the past decade, living donor transplants have grown by 84%, and both major adult centers report strong outcomes — with 1-year patient survival rates of 98% at both Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah Hospital, and pediatric outcomes at Primary Children’s Medical Center at or near 100% across nearly all measures. However, the transplant waiting list has grown faster than capacity, from 565 patients in 2020 to 852 in 2025, and approximately 1 in 2 patients on the list still does not receive a transplant in any given year. The Medicare data underscores the stakes: transplant recipients after the first year cost Medicare over $64,000 less annually than dialysis patients.

Several areas call for particular attention going forward. Male kidney cancer incidence in Utah is rising at 2.6% per year while the national rate falls — a diverging trend requiring monitoring and early detection efforts. Utah Hispanics face higher kidney cancer incidence and mortality than Hispanic Americans nationally, pointing to a health equity gap. Rural counties carry the highest kidney disease death rates, with Uintah County’s rate more than twice the state average. And the financial burden falls disproportionately on minority communities: over 60% of AKF charitable assistance recipients are from minority groups. Together, these patterns point to the need for sustained investment in screening, early detection, transplant access, and targeted support for the communities most affected by kidney disease in Utah.