KDIGO

What KDIGO does

KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes) is a Belgian nonprofit foundation established in 2003 and headquartered in Brussels, with a small virtual paid staff of 1-10 employees supplemented by a Global Network of more than 1,000 volunteer nephrologists and Implementation Task Force members in over 80 countries. The organization develops and disseminates evidence-based clinical practice guidelines covering the major kidney disease areas, including CKD evaluation and management, CKD-Mineral and Bone Disorder, glomerular diseases (IgAN/IgAV, ANCA vasculitis, lupus nephritis, nephrotic syndrome in children), anemia, diabetes and CKD, blood pressure in CKD, ADPKD, hepatitis C in CKD, lipids in CKD, heart failure in CKD, living kidney donation, and transplant candidate/recipient guidelines. KDIGO also convenes Controversies Conferences on emerging topics and produces supporting educational products including a free iOS and Android mobile app (nearly 20,000 downloads), a Comparative Guideline Library, a podcast series, the KDIGO Direct newsletter, webinars co-produced with the International Society of Nephrology, and implementation toolkits.

Methodologically, KDIGO applies the GRADE framework for evidence review and appraisal, with work groups drawn from international experts and recommendations subject to public review. The organization explicitly maintains editorial independence from its sponsors; activities are funded by a consortium of companies and supporting organizations that contribute financially but have no influence on guideline content. All guidelines, conference reports, and educational tools are provided free of charge worldwide, positioning KDIGO as a public-interest standard-setter rather than a commercial product vendor. Governance is provided by a 20-member volunteer Executive Committee with rotating Co-Chairs, and strategic partnerships span ISN, TTS, ERA, AFRAN, Cochrane Kidney and Transplant, the National Kidney Foundation, and academic Evidence Review Centers such as Johns Hopkins University.

Name

KDIGO

Legal name

Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO)

Website

https://kdigo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KDIGO is a Belgian nonprofit foundation that develops and disseminates freely available, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in kidney disease, serving nephrologists, healthcare systems, and patients in 80+ countries through a global volunteer network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Practice Guidelines / Medical Knowledge Services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

General Nephrology Practice (HLAKAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Glomerular & Autoimmune Kidney Disease (Glomerulonephritis) Clinics (HLAKAHAG), Dialysis Services (Hemodialysis & Peritoneal Dialysis) (HLAKAHAC), Nephrology Telemedicine Platforms (HLALAGAI)

Keywords

• Clinical practice guidelines
• Kidney disease care
• Evidence-based medicine
• Nephrology guidelines
• Medical knowledge translation

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Organizational Funding: KDIGO is a Belgian foundation in the public interest. Activities are funded through a consortium of companies and organizations who support the guidelines but have no ability to influence their recommendations. The organization is self-managed and has published its guidelines freely available. No direct revenue is generated from products or services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KDIGO develops and publishes evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in kidney disease, translating global scientific evidence into practical recommendations for clinicians and patients. The organization covers all major kidney conditions including CKD, glomerular diseases (IgAN, ANCA vasculitis, lupus nephritis), kidney transplantation, anemia, mineral bone disorders, diabetes and CKD, blood pressure management, and hepatitis C. All guidelines, conference reports, and educational tools are provided free of charge worldwide through the website, mobile app, and partnerships with global nephrology societies.

Product overview

KDIGO is a global nonprofit organization that develops and implements evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in kidney disease. The organization's primary offering consists of clinical practice guidelines covering over 15 kidney disease areas (including CKD, Glomerular Diseases, Diabetes and CKD, Blood Pressure in CKD, CKD-MBD, and others), delivered through a mobile application (KDIGO Mobile), website, and publications. KDIGO also holds Controversies Conferences producing expert consensus reports, publishes the KDIGO Direct newsletter, maintains a Comparative Guideline Library tool, and produces educational podcast series. The guidelines translate global scientific evidence into practical recommendations for clinicians and patients worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KDIGO Clinical Practice Guidelines Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for kidney disease covering over 15 topic areas including CKD, glomerular diseases, transplantation, anemia, mineral bone disorders, diabetes and CKD, blood pressure, and heart failure. Developed through rigorous GRADE methodology and intended for nephrologists, transplant specialists, and healthcare professionals worldwide.
• KDIGO Mobile App Free mobile application for iOS and Android providing searchable access to all KDIGO guidelines in PDF format, with text search, cross-guideline search, bookmarks, note-taking, and community features via Twitter integration. Nearly 20,000 downloads globally on Apple Store and Google Play Store.
• KDIGO Controversies Conferences Expert conferences addressing controversial or incompletely decided issues in kidney disease treatment, with topics including B Cell Therapies, Complement-Mediated Kidney Diseases (aHUS, C3G, Ig-MPGN), ADPKD, Supportive Care, and kidney care in lower-resource settings. Conferences produce published consensus reports and recommendations, with upcoming events in Rome (April 2026) and Mexico City (November 2026).
• KDIGO Direct Newsletter Regular newsletter providing news and updates from KDIGO, including guideline publications, conference announcements, implementation activities, and organizational updates. Published monthly and freely available.
• KDIGO Comparative Guideline Library (CGL)

Quantifiable outcome

• Guidelines translated into multiple languages for global accessibility
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Society of Nephrology (ISN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020KDIGO has an ongoing collaboration with ISN to produce webinars. Webinar recordings are available on the KDIGO website and YouTube channel. KDIGO-ISN webinars are a key educational channel for guideline dissemination.
• The Transplantation Society (TTS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKDIGO collaborated with TTS on the Clinical Practice Guideline on Living Kidney Donation. TTS helped fund the guideline and provided leaders as work group participants. Both organizations work together to make recommendations available worldwide.
• Cochrane Kidney and Transplant (CKT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKDIGO and CKT launched a collaboration to consolidate information on kidney disease guidelines into a searchable database accessible on the KDIGO website. Guidelines published by kidney organizations worldwide will be identified and included. The collaboration was announced at the International Society of Nephrology's World Congress of Nephrology.
• Asahi KaseiminorOthersAsahi Kasei's product Nefecon (marketed as TARPEYO in the US) was included in the updated 2025 KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline for IgA nephropathy treatment, strengthening Asahi Kasei's position in the treatment space.
• Shire International GmbHminorOthersShire International GmbH provided an educational grant supporting the KDIGO Clinical Guidelines for Kidney Disease iPad app, which was available free of charge through the Apple App Store.
• Radcliffe CardiologyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKDIGO partnered with Radcliffe Cardiology on medical education initiatives.
• Cardiorenal ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership between KDIGO and the Cardiorenal Forum for knowledge exchange and education.
• ERA (European Renal Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERA and KDIGO signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration. KDIGO presented at ERA 2026.
• AFRAN (African Renal Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFRAN and KDIGO signed a Memorandum of Understanding. KDIGO held a workshop on transplantation in Africa.
• National Kidney Foundation (NKF)coreOthersNKF is KDIGO's Founding Sponsor. Michael Cheung, KDIGO's Chief Scientific Officer, previously worked on KDIGO guidelines as a staff member of NKF for seven years, most recently as Senior Director, Education, and previously as Guideline Development Director.
• Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJohns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA was selected as the Evidence Review Center for the CKD-MBD Guideline Update. Dr. Karen Robinson, Director of the Evidence Based Practice Center at Johns Hopkins, leads the evidence review team.
• Canadian Society of Transplantation, Canadian Society of Nephrology, Canadian Blood ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThese Canadian organizations provided support for the development of the Living Kidney Donor Guideline.
• ERA-EDTA Working Group on CKD-MBDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ERA-EDTA working group on CKD-MBD provides links to KDIGO CKD-MBD guideline resources on their website.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Kidney Foundation (NKF): KDIGO's Founding Sponsor and historically the operational home for KDIGO guideline development (Michael Cheung spent seven years at NKF). NKF runs KDOQI, the parallel U.S. kidney-disease guideline body, making it the closest institutional and operational peer to KDIGO.
• International Society of Nephrology (ISN): Global professional society for nephrology and a core KDIGO collaboration partner on webinars and congresses. ISN pursues overlapping missions (global kidney health advancement, education, guideline dissemination) and represents the global nephrology community that KDIGO's guidelines ultimately serve.
• European Renal Association (ERA): ERA holds an MoU with KDIGO and presents jointly at ERA 2026. As the leading European nephrology professional body, ERA develops its own clinical guidance and convenes the same expert pool KDIGO draws on, making it a direct peer in guideline and education production.
• Cochrane Kidney and Transplant: Long-standing KDIGO collaboration partner producing a consolidated guideline database on the KDIGO website. CKT produces the systematic evidence reviews that often underpin KDIGO guidelines, making it a methodology peer rather than a competitor.
• American Society of Nephrology (ASN): Largest U.S.-based nephrology professional society with parallel guideline and educational activities (including Kidney Week, the largest nephrology congress). ASN competes for the same expert authors and global mindshare KDIGO commands.
• The Transplantation Society (TTS): KDIGO's co-development partner on the Living Kidney Donor guideline. TTS focuses specifically on transplantation and overlaps directly with KDIGO's transplant candidate/recipient guidelines, making it a sub-specialty peer.

Regional players

• Canadian Society of Nephrology: Provided support for KDIGO's Living Kidney Donor guideline. CSN develops Canada-specific kidney disease guidance and represents the same regional adaptation model KDIGO's Implementation Task Force supports globally.

Broad incumbents

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): The U.K.'s flagship clinical guideline development body. While NICE covers all medical specialties, its renal guidelines are highly cited and represent a national-government alternative to KDIGO's international model — a methodological and structural peer.
• National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN): Not-for-profit alliance of U.S. cancer centers producing widely adopted oncology clinical practice guidelines. NCCN represents a structurally analogous model — multi-stakeholder nonprofit producing disease-specific guidelines adopted as care standards — making it a strong structural peer.

Emerging players

• AvoMD: Clinical decision support platform that partnered with KDIGO to make CKD guidelines actionable at the point of care. AvoMD sits in the adjacent technology layer that KDIGO's guidelines increasingly flow into, making it an ecosystem peer rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gokdigo
• Facebookfacebook.com/goKDIGO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kdigo
• Instagraminstagram.com/gokdigo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about KDIGO