Alonzo Mourning Talks about FSGS on Live with Regis and Kelly

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2008

NBA Star's Kidney Transplant Part of New, Autobiographical Book, Resilience

BERWYN, Pa. -- Alonzo Mourning, the professional basketball star who astoundingly resumed his NBA career after enduring a kidney transplant, referenced "Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis," also know as FSGS, during an appearance Tuesday on the popular ABC network talk show Regis and Kelly Tuesday.

Mourning, promoting his new book, Resilience, told Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, "I started feeling extremely fatigued back in 2000 coming back from the Olympics. Tests showed that I had some abnormalities in my body chemistries. I went and saw a kidney doctor and I was diagnosed through a biopsy with a rare kidney disorder known as Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. They told me that I would probably be on dialysis and that I would need a transplant within a year.

"I had a lot of individuals tell me that I wouldn't be able to do it playing the position that I play, a very physical position, that I would not be able to make it, but, again, my faith and strength that I had within kept me going and my resilience I had within kept me going to overcome that."

FSGS is a primary focus of The NephCure Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for research into finding effective treatments and a cure for the disease. Mourning is an honorary ambassador for The NephCure Foundation and supports the organization with occasional appearances as part of his many community service initiatives.

In 2008, The NephCure Foundation committed more than $2 million to be directed toward research into Nephrotic Syndrome and FSGS. The organization has a fundraising goal of $2.1 million in 2009.

Mourning works to draw attention to The NephCure Foundation's mission, which has a unique challenge in identifying patient families. . For further information, visit www.nephcure.org or contact Miriam Long at 610 540 0186 x10.