AFE Foundation
Our Story
From Crisis to Cause
In 2008, Miranda Klassen and her husband, Bryce were excited to welcome their first child, a son. They could never have anticipated what would unfold. Miranda’s labor turned from normal to an unexpected and sudden crisis. What transpired over the course of that day and for several of the following weeks was a blur; their son was born emergently, and Miranda required resuscitation, transfusions and surgery to survive. She reawakened to hear the words that would change their lives forever: amniotic fluid embolism.
It should have been one of the most joyful moments in their young lives.
They returned home new parents; their lives forever changed. While trying to recover and care for her son, Miranda desperately sought answers to the questions of; how, why, will our son be okay, what next? Their searches for information about AFE and finding others like them were futile. While searching online, Miranda learned of a mother and son who both were lost to an AFE, the very same week their son was born. Her heart felt broken all over again. She could not sit idly by; mothers and their babies were dying, or nearly dying, in the 21st century from a rare and poorly understood condition.
Three months later, Miranda found passion and purpose through her experience and founded the AFE Foundation. In fact, every employee and board member has also been directly impacted by an AFE affording the organization the ability to truly understand the unique needs of those it serves and foster a deep sense of connection within the community.
July 2008
Founded by AFE survivor, we became the only organization in the world dedicated to Amniotic Fluid Embolism.
August 2008
World’s foremost AFE experts pledge their support and participation.
March 2009
Launches website and support groups. Now, site visits reach 40,000 a year and 1,000+ in our support groups.
October 2009
First fundraiser event sets financial foundation and inspires more events.
February 2010
Begins presenting AFE education and simulation at large conferences in U.S.
March 2011
Adopts March 27th as AFE Awareness Day to honor families and lived ones lost to AFE.
October 2012
Appointed to the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) Executive Board, a multi-stakeholder organization founded at Stanford University that leads the development of safety quality standards and improvement efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in CA.
August 2013
Launches global AFE Patient Registry. Quickly becomes most comprehensive study of AFE in the world.
March 2015
Awareness campaign spans the globe reaching 500,000 in over 80 countries.
July 2016
Appointed to the prestigious Council for Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists which joins partners, subspecialties, and patient organizations together with the goal of improving health care for all women.
October 2016
Established and published diagnostic criteria for amniotic fluid embolism in research studies in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology with an extensive multidisciplinary team of experts in maternal fetal medicine, hematology, and cardiology. The criteria have been internationally recognized and cited in more than 100 other publications and studies.
January 2017
Published paper in European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology on reproductive outcomes of women who survived an amniotic fluid embolism.
June 2017
AFE Foundation Board Member, Stephanie Arnold is the keynote speaker at the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) annual conference with over 2,500 labor and delivery nurses sharing her story and more about our organization.
June 2017
Established the first of its kind biorepository in the U.S for amniotic fluid embolism specimens at Baylor College of Medicine to advance the research on the syndrome and identify potential new biomarkers aiding in the prediction, prevention, and more efficacious treatment of AFE.
March 2018
Appointed to the CDC National Partnership to Eliminate Preventable Maternal Mortality.
May 2018
Led by lobbyist and AFE Survivor Pattie Shea, AFE Foundation board member Diana Masulli, and several other AFE survivors, Connecticut passed the first bill of its kind mandating the CT Department of Public Health provide education on AFE developed by the AFE Foundation to all labor and delivery clinicians and nurses.
June 2018
Opened our office in Carlsbad, California and hired our second employee.
October 2018
Co-Founded MoMMA’s Voices, a national coalition of patient organizations and individuals working together to reduce maternal complications in pregnancy and the postpartum period.
August 2019
Held an International meeting on AFE with the world-renowned Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institutes of Health at Wayne State University.
May 2020
Published the first extensive manuscript in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Maternal Fetal Medicine on the key findings from the AFE Registry.
October 2020
Appointed to Maternal Mortality Review Committees in California and Connecticut.
January 2021
Recommended and helped establish a uniform checklist to aid in the treatment and management of AFE.
April 2022
Expanded our research registry and biorepository to University Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas.
July 2022
Unveiled State Liaison Program to build relationships with hospitals and key stakeholders to disseminate our educational materials.
March 2023
15-year impact report showcasing our growth and plans for sustainability.
April 2023
Instituted the 24/7 AFE Hotline (307-END-AFES) to offer support and information needed in critical moments.
May 2023
Published an exhaustive AFE Simulation Toolkit to help hospitals and teams simulate and prepare for an AFE.
July 2023
Launched free CEU AFE Course for Healthcare Providers to expand clinicians' knowledge on treatment, management, support, and research.
March 2024
Our community helps us hit a record high of 34 States officially proclaiming AFE Awareness Day!
July 2024
Created a tradeshow booth and attended major scientific meetings to engage attendees, communicate key messages, and showcase our educational resources.