Kidney Failure Flashcards
All 6 cards in this deck
What are the two treatments for kidney failure?
Kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant (organ donation).
What happens to the blood inside a dialysis machine?
e.g. a patient with a high blood urea concentration
- Blood is pumped through tubes surrounded by dialysis fluid, separated by a partially permeable membrane.
- Urea and excess salts and water diffuse out of the blood into the dialysis fluid.
- The cleaned blood is returned to the patient.
Why does dialysis fluid contain glucose and salts at the same concentration as healthy blood?
So there is no concentration gradient for them, and they are not lost from the blood by diffusion.
Give two advantages of a kidney transplant over dialysis.
No need for regular, time-consuming dialysis sessions, and fewer restrictions on diet and fluid intake (also cheaper long term).
Give two disadvantages of a kidney transplant.
The donor kidney may be rejected, so immunosuppressant drugs must be taken for life; there is also a shortage of donors and risks from surgery.
True or false? Dialysis cures kidney failure.
False. It only removes wastes temporarily, so it must be repeated regularly, e.g. three times a week.