Name 4 symptoms of kidney failure
- weakness
- short of breath
- confusion
- abnormal heart rhythms
- swollen ankles
- nausea
- blood in urine
- initial kidney failure may not cause any symptoms
What is chronic kidney disease?
The reduced ability of the kidney to:
•maintain blood pressure
•maintain levels of chemicals in your body which help muscles and heart function properly
•produce active form of vitamin D for healthy bones
•simulate the production of red blood cells
What can cause CKD?
Damage to kidneys from other conditions, ex diabetes or high blood pressure
What is a kidney transplant?
Where a diseased kidney is replaced with a healthy one
How can donor kidneys be obtained?
From a victim of a fatal accident or sometimes from living donors
Why must the donated kidney be a very good tissue match?
To prevent rejection
Why are some kidney transplants rejected?
The antigens on the surface of the transplanted kidney might be attacked by the antibodies of the recipient because they recognise them as being foreign, so the immune system destroys it
Why must recipients of kidney transplants take immunosuppressant drugs?
To suppress their immune system so it doesn’t reject the kidney
What are antigens?
Proteins on the surface of cells
What can cause kidney failure?
- an underlying disease, such as CKD
- build up of waste products in the bloodstream and inability to move them, such as the inability to remove potassium from the bloodstream can cause abnormal heart rhythms or even sudden death