Lupus Foundation of America Rallies Communities to Make Lupus Visible for Lupus Awareness Month

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Throughout the month of May, the Lupus Foundation of America is encouraging people living with lupus, friends, family members and partners to be loud and use their voices more than ever before to Make Lupus Visible for Lupus Awareness Month. The nationwide and global effort will raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lupus, amplify the real-life stories of the day-to-day impact of living with lupus, and raise funds to support lupus research, education programs and support services.

Lupus is a complex and debilitating chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system is unable to tell the difference between healthy tissue and foreign invaders. This can result in inflammation, debilitating pain and damage to any organ system in the body. The symptoms of lupus often impact day-to-day life and can cause serious, and even fatal, complications, including lupus nephritis (lupus-related kidney disease) which can impact up to 60% of people with lupus and lead to kidney failure.

While lupus can affect anyone, nine out of 10 people with lupus are women and the disease disproportionately impacts certain racial and ethnic backgrounds including Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander. An estimated 1.5 million Americans are living with lupus.

To help raise awareness of this misunderstood disease, the Lupus Foundation of America is featuring an interactive online Know Lupus Quiz as a key component of this year's Make Lupus Visible campaign. The quiz tests participants' knowledge about lupus, provides the correct answer following each question and directs the participant to helpful resources for more information. Participants are also asked to share the quiz on social media, and with friends and family, so that more people understand the devastating impact of lupus and to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lupus that help reduce time to diagnosis.

"Lupus Awareness Month is a reminder to everyone impacted by lupus of the incredible power our collective voices can have on so many around us," said Louise Vetter, President & CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America. "Just by taking the Know Lupus Quiz and sharing it with others, you can make someone with lupus feel more understood or raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lupus so they can have an informed conversation with their doctor - conversations that are key in reducing time to diagnosis."

The Know Lupus Quiz is just the start of ways to get involved during May. While many symptoms of lupus may be invisible, throughout the month, the Lupus Foundation of America is encouraging everybody to take part in making lupus visible by:

• Raising the awareness of lupus by sharing facts and resources using the Lupus Foundation of America's awareness toolkit.
• Joining the lupus community on May 10 for Put on Purple for World Lupus Day by loudly and proudly wearing purple, sharing why raising lupus awareness is important to you, and using facts and shareables from the World Lupus Federation Toolkit to spark conversation and highlight the importance of understanding this disease.
• Tune in to the hundreds of streamers participating in Game On! To End Lupus, where content creators livestream to fundraise, raise awareness and unite to end lupus all May long.
• Hosting a fundraiser or starting a Facebook fundraiser, and inviting your community to support the fight to end lupus.
• Donate to support lupus research, resources and education programs, and support services.

"The Lupus Foundation of America invites everyone to Make Lupus Visible this May - each voice adds power to our fight to reduce time to diagnosis, accelerate research for better treatments and make a world without lupus a reality," added Ms. Vetter.

For more information on Lupus Awareness Month and how to get involved, visit www.lupus.org/lupusawarenessmonth.

Media Contact: Shannon Brown, (202) 763-5485, [email protected]

SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.