Tampa, Fla., June 8, 2009 – Join the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) for the next AAKP HealthLine conference call. During the call, titled Vitamin D Deficiency in Renal Patients, Daniel Coyne, MD, will lead a discussion on how the body utilizes Vitamin D and complications faced by renal patients with Vitamin D deficiency. Participants will also be informed on the difference between natural Vitamin D and over the counter Vitamin D pills.

Dr. Coyne is a Professor of Medicine (Renal Disease), Director of Hemodialysis at the Chromalloy American Kidney Center and Director of the Medicine Multispecialty Clinics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. His research interests include secondary hyperparathyroidism, Vitamin D, anemia management in chronic kidney disease and hypertension.

The AAKP HealthLine call takes place Thursday, June 25, 2009, from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. E.T. Time is provided at the end of the program for participant questions.

AAKP HealthLine is a FREE, one-hour conference call designed to educate kidney patients on a variety of topics affecting them and their families. Conference calls feature kidney health care experts from across the country and provide patients with the convenience of gaining knowledge from the comfort of their home or office.

Conference calls are organized by AAKP. Participation is FREE and no phone charges apply. To learn more about AAKP HealthLine or to register for the upcoming call, contact AAKP at (800) 749-AAKP or visit www.aakp.org/events/HealthLine. Patients can also listen to archived calls on the AAKP Web site.

This AAKP HealthLine conference call is sponsored by Abbott Renal Care.

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AAKP is the voluntary, patient organization, which for 40 years, has been dedicated to improving the lives of fellow kidney patients and their families by helping them deal with the physical, emotional and social impact of kidney disease. The programs offered by AAKP inform and inspire patients and their families to better understand their condition, adjust more readily to their circumstances, and assume more normal, productive lives in their communities.