FOR MANY People, A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT IS THE ONLY OPTION FOR LIVING A FULL, normal LIFE.
Kidney Companions
In the United States, kidney disease afflicts nearly 40 million people, roughly 15% of the population. In its most severe form, kidney disease leads to end-stage kidney failure, a uniformly fatal condition if kidney replacement therapies are not available. The most common form of kidney replacement therapy is dialysis, and in the United States, there are more than 750,000 people receiving dialysis.
Kidney Disease treatments
Dialysis
Dialysis is a very intensive therapy; complications are frequent; it requires several hours of treatments per week; missing even a single treatment session can lead to hospitalization or death; and without a kidney transplant, patients with end-stage kidney failure require dialysis for their entire lives. The average life expectancy is between 3 to 5 years for persons on dialysis.
transplant
Another form of kidney replacement therapy is kidney transplantation. For persons with end-stage kidney failure, a kidney transplant is the only way to avoid or stop dialysis. Not only do patients who receive a kidney transplant report vastly greater quality of life, including the ability to return to work, travel, and live normal lives, but they also on average live decades longer than had they remained on dialysis.
Despite the profound benefits of kidney transplantation, numerous patients who are in desperate need of a kidney transplant do not receive one.
