What is kidney failure?

Kidney failure is when the kidneys stop working properly and can't do their job.

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What are the consequences of kidney failure?

1Build up of toxins like urea.


2Poor regulation of ions and water levels. 

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What are the two main treatments for kidney failure, other than medication?

  1. Dialysis.
  2. Kidney transplant.

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In one sentence, briefly outline what dialysis is.

Dialysis is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood, by passing the blood through a dialysis machine. 

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How does a dialysis machine work?

  1. Blood is removed from the patient and flows through a dialysis machine where it is kept separated from dialysis fluid by a partially permeable membrane.
  2. The dialysis fluid contains the same concentration of glucose, ions and water as normal blood plasma.
  3. This means that there will be no diffusion of glucose out of the blood, but any excess ions will diffuse out, and all of the urea will diffuse out of the blood into the dialysis fluid.
  4. The clean blood is then returned to the patient, and the waste dialysis fluid is disposed of.

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What are the disadvantages of dialysis?

1It is very expensive.


2It is time consuming (generally hours each time, multiple times a week).


3There is a risk of infection.

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What is a kidney transplant?

A kidney transplant is the transfer of a healthy kidney into a person whose kidney doesn't work properly. 

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What are the advantages of a kidney transplant?

  1. It should be a single treatment that cures the kidney failure.


  1. It is relatively cheap (compared to dialysis).

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What are the disadvantages of a kidney transplant?

  1. There is a very limited supply of healthy kidneys.
  2. It requires surgery, which involves its own risks.
  3. There is a chance of rejection.
  4. Ongoing immunosuppressant medication is required to suppress the immune system of the person who receives the kidney - which increases their risk of infections. 

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