Sponsored Ads

When kidneys fail completely.

If your kidneys stop working completely, sometimes called end-stage renal disease (ESRD), wastes can build up in your system. Your body needs clean blood to function properly. When this happens, the only option is to undergo dialysis or kidney transplantation to support life.

Dialysis

The two major forms of dialysis are hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Hemodialysis is usually performed at a dialysis center three times per week for 3 to 4 hours. In this form of dialysis, your blood is sent through a filter that removes waste products. The clean blood is then returned to your body.

In peritoneal dialysis, a fluid is put into your abdomen. This fluid captures the waste products from your blood. After a few hours, the fluid containing your body’s wastes is drained away. Then, a fresh bag of fluid is dripped into the abdomen. Patients can perform peritoneal dialysis themselves. Patients using continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) change fluid four times a day. Another form of peritoneal dialysis, called continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD), can be performed at night with a machine that drains and refills the abdomen automatically.

Kidney transplant

Another treatment for ESRD is to undergo kidney transplantation. In kidney transplant operation, a kidney from a donor is transplanted to the recipient. A donated kidney may come from an anonymous donor who has recently died or from a living person, usually a relative. The kidney that you receive must be a good match for your body. The more the new kidney is like you, the less likely your immune system is to reject it. Your immune system protects you from disease by attacking anything that is not recognized as a normal part of your body. So your immune system will attack a kidney that appears too “foreign.” You will take special drugs to help trick your immune system so it does not reject the transplanted kidney.

<<< Back l l Next: What You Can Do >>>

See Also: Total Kidney Failure: Treatment Options