Transcript
What is kidney failure?
My doctor told me they were worried about my kidneys, but I’m not really sure what kidneys do.
The doctor explained that the body has 2 kidneys.
Each one is the size of your fist and located in your lower back.
They both do the same job.
They have special cells that act like filters taking in blood and filtering out waste and excess water.
The clean blood is sent back to the body.
The waste and excess water is sent to the bladder where it is stored until you urinate.
If your kidney function is 100%, all the special filters are working and even one kidney could easily clean your blood.
However, there are many ways that your kidneys can become injured such as with high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases.
These affect both kidneys.
And their function will be reduced at the same time.
Usually this happens over many years. At 20% your kidneys are struggling to keep you healthy and won’t be able to do their job much longer.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to repair damage already done to the kidneys.When the last remaining filters stop working, you’ll get very sick and need emergency dialysis to stay alive.
Dialysis is a treatment where your blood is filtered by a machine.
To avoid emergency dialysis your doctor will be watching your kidney function.They check a number called your GFR which your doctor will see in your blood tests.
This test tells us how well your kidneys are functioning together.
You can ask your doctor about your GFR anytime your blood is checked.
As your kidney function continues to decline, your doctor will want you to see a kidney specialist, called a nephrologist.
Your nephrologist will closely monitor you and recommend treatment.
When your function goes down to 20%, your kidneys are struggling to keep you healthy and it’s time to go to a transplant center to be evaluated for a new kidney, which may allow you to avoid dialysis.
You can talk to your doctor about kidney transplantation or give your transplant center a call.
Thanks for watching.
You can get more information and see all our videos at transplantinfo.com.
TransplantInfo | Quick and clear videos about kidney transplantation
Dr. Liise Kayler is a transplant surgeon and educator. She lives in Buffalo, NY and directs the transplant program at Erie County Medical Center. Working with researchers, community members, and patients in Buffalo, she created videos to explain kidney transplantation.
The videos are easy for everyone to understand and are meant to be shared.
The Kidney Foundation of Western New York is helping to share this resource with our community. To see all the videos and learn more, go to https://transplantinfo.com/
Comments