kidney failure

• what happens if the kidneys don't work properly?

  waste substances build up and you lose your ability to control the levels of ions and water
• what are the ways to keep you alive with a kidney failure?

  dialysis treatment or kidney transplant
• how does dialysis treatment work?

  - in a dialysis machine the persons blood flows between a partially permeable membrane surrounded by dialysis fluid

  • this has the same concentration of dissolved ions and glucose as healthy blood would have
  • only waste substances and excess ions and water diffuse across the barrier and are therefore removed
• why does dialysis have to be done regulary?

  to keep the concentrations of dissolved substances in the blood at normal levels and to removes waste substances
• what are the negatives of dialysis treatment?

  can cause blood clots and expensive to run
• kidney transplants can be rejected by the persons immune system so are treated with drugs to prevent