Kidney failure

Question 1

What happens if someone’s kidneys stop working?

Answer 1

There are two treatments.

Question 2

What two treatments are there if someone’s kidneys stop working?

Answer 2

• Regular dialysis.

- Transplant.

Question 3

What do the kidneys do?

Answer 3

They remove waste substances from the blood.

Question 4

What happens if the kidneys don’t work properly?

Answer 4

Waste substances build up in the blood.

Question 5

What happens when the kidneys don’t work properly causing waste substances to build up in the blood?

Answer 5

You lose your ability to control the levels of ions and water in your body. This eventually results in death.

Question 6

What problems can you get if the kidneys don’t work properly?

Answer 6

Problems in the

• Heart
• Bones.
• Nervous system.
• Stomach.
• Mouth
• Etc.

Question 7

What do dialysis machines do?

Answer 7

They filter the blood (do the job of the kidneys).

Question 8

When does dialysis have to be done?

Answer 8

Regularly.

Question 9

Why does dialysis have to be done regularly?

Answer 9

To keep the concentration of dissolved substances in the blood at normal levels, and to remove waste substances.

Question 10

How does a dialysis machine work?

Answer 10

The person’s blood flows into the dialysis machine alongside a selectively permeable barrier, surrounded by dialysis fluid, then back into the person.

Question 11

Why does a dialysis machine contain a permeable barrier which is selective?

Answer 11

Because it’s permeable to things like waste substances (e.g. urea) and excess ions and water, but not to big molecules like proteins (just like the membranes in the kidneys).

Question 12

What does the dialysis fluid which surrounds the selectively permeable barrier in a dialysis machine have?

Answer 12

It has the same concentration of dissolved ions and glucose as healthy blood.

Question 13

What does the dialysis fluid having the same concentration of dissolved ions and glucose as healthy blood mean?

Answer 13

That useful dissolved ions and glucose won’t be lost from the blood during dialysis.

Question 14

What are the downsides of dialysis?

Answer 14

• Many patients with kidney failure have to have dialysis sessions three times a week, which each take 3-4 hours.
• Dialysis may cause blood clots or infections.

Question 15

What is the only cure for kidney disease at the moment?

Answer 15

To have a kidney transplant.

Question 16

Who are healthy kidneys usually transplanted from?

Answer 16

People who have died suddenly (e.g. in a car accident), and are on the organ donor register or carry a donor card (as long as the relatives allow it).

Question 17

Who else can kidneys be transplanted from?

Answer 17

People who are alive, as we have two kidneys.

Question 18

What is the disadvantage of kidney transplants?

Answer 18

The donor kidney can be rejected by the patient’s immune system.

Question 19

How is the donor kidney rejected from the patient’s immune system after a kidney transplant?

Answer 19

The foreign antigens on the donor kidney are attacked by the patient’s antibodies.

Question 20

What do we do to help prevent the donor kidney from being rejected by the patient’s immune system?

Answer 20

We take precautions.

Question 21

What precautions are taken to help prevent the donor kidney from being rejected by the patient’s immune system?

Answer 21

• A donor with a tissue type that closely matches the patient is chosen.
• The patient is treated with drugs that suppress their immune system, so it won’t attack the transplanted kidney.

Question 22

What is tissue type based on when choosing a donor with a tissue type that closely matches the patient?

Answer 22

The antigens on the surface of the kidney, which are proteins on the surface of most cells.

Question 23

Why is a kidney transplant better than dialysis?

Answer 23

• Dialysis machines are expensive to run.
• They are not a pleasant experience.
• Transplants are cheaper and can put an end to the hours spent on dialysis.

Question 24

Why is dialysis better than a kidney transplant?

Answer 24

• There are long waiting lists for kidney transplants.
• There is a possibility that the kidney will be rejected.
• Suppressing the immune system means the person is vulnerable to other illnesses.