Event Will Raise $1 Million to Fight Against Kidney Disease in Washington, DC Area

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by the National Kidney Foundation:

WHO: Host - National Kidney Foundation of the National Capital Area

Guests - 1,000 of the Washington area's business, government, health, and community leaders; kidney patients and their families

Special Guests - Alonzo Mourning, kidney transplant recipient, and his wife Tracy, both NKF spokespersons; Mark Immerman and Robin Freedenfeld, kidney transplant recipient and donor; Dr. Keith Melancon - Director of Kidney & Pancreas Transplantation, Georgetown University Hospital

Entertainment - The Doobie Brothers

Event Committee - Jim Duffey, Chair; Bill Couper, Bank of America; Carleton Jones, INDUS Corporation; and Donna Morea, CGI, Vice Chairs

Major Sponsors - Air France, Bedford Falls Foundation, Bert Smith & Company, CGI, Host Hotels & Resorts, KPMG, Ronald D. Paul Companies, Inc., Sutherland Media Productions, Unisys

WHAT: Guests will enjoy cocktails, dinner, silent and live auctions, and dancing, as well as special video presentation, "What Goes Around Comes Around" that focuses on the historic 12-person domino kidney transplant in April 2006. Alonzo Mourning will sign copies of his new book Resilience: Faith, Focus, Triumph for Kidney Ball guests only from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

WHEN: Saturday, November 22, 2008

6:30 pm - Midnight

WHERE: The Hilton Washington

1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Washington, DC

WHY: The Washington, DC area leads the nation in the prevalence of kidney disease, with more than 500,000 people affected, nearly 6,000 on dialysis, and more than 1,600 waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant. The Kidney Ball is the National Kidney Foundation's largest one-day fundraiser nationwide, raising funds to support medical research, patient and community services, professional education, and organ donation awareness in the DC region.

TICKETS: Individual tickets for the Kidney Ball are $300 per person and $600 per couple. A variety of sponsorship opportunities are also available. For additional information please visit our website, www.kidneywdc.org.

SOURCE National Kidney Foundation