END-STAGE OF KIDNEY FAILURE

Descriptions
Chronic renal failure is a progressive deterioration of kidney function over a long period of time. It can be caused by diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, lupus erythematosus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and a form of cancer called myeloma. If diagnosed early the degenerative process can be slowed, but not reversed, by interventions that can range from simply restricting fluid intake and protein consumption (proteins are the main source of waste products) to taking drugs to address the underlying disease that is damaging the kidneys. Some patients may go on to develop end-stage renal failure, a life-threatening condition that requires long-term dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Treatment
Kidney Dialysis, also known as hemodialysis, medical treatment used to remove waste materials from the blood of patients lacking renal function. Blood from an artery is pumped through a dialyzer, or artificial kidney, where it flows past a semipermeable membrane. Dialysis fluid passing on the other side of the membrane removes unwanted elements in the blood by diffusion. The blood is then returned to the body through a vein.

Transplantation
Kidneys are the most common organs to be transplanted. Kidneys remove waste products from the blood stream. If they fail, often as a result of diabetes mellitus or cancer, a person can die from the buildup of these toxic materials. The waste products can be removed artificially through a process called kidney dialysis, but the patient must be hooked up to the dialysis machine two to three times each week for as long as 12 hours at a time. Kidney transplants free the recipient from dependence on dialysis. If the kidney is rejected, the patient must go back on dialysis or receive another transplant. The first successful transplant of any organ was performed in 1954, when American surgeon Joseph Murray successfully transplanted a kidney donated from the recipient’s twin brother.