News Releases

HARTFORD, Conn., May 08, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Aetna Foundation have announced an initial grant of $50,000 to support the work of the National Kidney Registry. The National Kidney Registry is a non-profit group dedicated to improving the lives of people facing kidney failure by helping patients with incompatible donors receive kidney transplants through the Registry’s national matching system. Representatives from Aetna and National Kidney Registry will join with elected officials for a press conference at Aetna’s New York offices on May 8th to formally announce the grant and Aetna’s member communications program.

“Aetna is proud to support the National Kidney Registry and its mission to improve the lives of people facing kidney failure,” said Aetna President Mark Bertolini. “As a living donor, and parent of a child whose life was saved by a kidney transplant, I understand the critical need to increase the number of living donor transplants and look forward to continuing our efforts to improve access and affordability for individuals going through the transplant process.”

"We are excited to have Aetna as a partner and look forward to working with Mark and his team to expand our ability to facilitate more life-saving transplants,” said Garet Hil, Founder of the National Kidney Registry. “Aetna's leadership in healthcare and support of our mission will help bring the miracle of transplantation to more people suffering from kidney failure."

The National Kidney Registry has already facilitated 31 life-saving transplants over the past 14 months including the first ever multi-center six-way swap. The Registry currently has matches identified for 36 additional patients with incompatible donors.  Using their national donor and patient database, the Registry has the potential to facilitate thousands of transplants while providing better transplant outcomes for patients and reducing health care costs by $100 billion dollars from transplants facilitated over the next 10 years.

During the May 8th press conference Aetna will also outline a new plan to provide its members awaiting kidney transplants with information on the resources available through the Registry. Through a multi-pronged communication campaign, Aetna will proactively communicate the availability of the National Kidney Registry to patients who are being evaluated for a kidney transplant and their doctors. The communications will also provide information on Aetna’s Institutes of Excellence Program^TM which provides members with access to accredited transplant facilities and the National Medical Excellence Program® which provides clinical oversight from specially trained case managers to ease the transplant process.

About the National Kidney Registry
The National Kidney Registry is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization with a mission to save and improve the lives of people facing kidney failure by increasing the quality, speed, and number of living donor transplants in the world.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.  For more information, see www.aetna.com and Aetna's Annual Report at www.aetna.com/2008annualreport.

About the Aetna Foundation
The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Founded in 1972, the Foundation seeks to help build healthy communities by funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where our employees and customers work and live.
The Foundation's giving is focused on health, diversity and employee community involvement, with broader programs in our home state of Connecticut. Since 1980, the Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $334 million in grants, sponsorships and social investments. In 2007, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation contributed $24.5 million nationally.
Additional information about the Aetna Foundation is available at www.aetna.com/foundation.