Kidney Failure

Kidneys are a pair of bean-shaped organs that lie on either side of your spine in the lower middle of your back. The main function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess water from the blood. Good kidney’s functions allow us to continue to consume a variety of foods, drugs, vitamins and supplements, additives, and excess fluids without worry that toxic by-products will build up to harmful levels. The kidney also plays a major role in regulating levels of various minerals such as calcium, sodium, and potassium in the blood. If the kidney fails to function, this can ultimately result in death.
Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys partly or completely lose their ability to carry out normal functions. This failure is caused by a number of conditions including diabetes, hypertension, glomerulonephritis, and cystic kidney disease.
When someone’s kidney failure becomes permanent called End-stage renal disease (ESRD), he/she requires either dialysis or a kidney transplant to maintain life. Hemodialyis is one kind of dialysis where the blood is filtered through a machine that acts like an artificial kidney and returned back into the body. This procedure needs to be performed in a designated dialysis centre. It is usually needed about 3 times per week, with each episode taking about 3-4 hours. Haemodialysis in Singapore can cost about 2,500 to 3500 Singapore Dollar per month.
Another kind of dialysis is Peritoneal dialysis, where the blood is cleaned without being removed from the body. A solution (mainly made up of salts and sugars) is injected into the abdomen that encourages filtration such that the waste is transferred from the blood to the solution. There are 2 types of Peritoneal Dialysis - continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and automated peritoneal dialysis (APD). CAPD needs to be done 3 to 5 times every day, but does not require a machine. In Singapore, this can cost around 1500 Singapore dollar per month. APD uses an automated cycler machine to perform 3 to 5 exchanges during the night while the patient is asleep. This can cost around 2,000 Singapore dollar per month.
Each treatment option has its own advantages and disadvantages, which vary with the condition of the patient and presence of underlying diseases. Hence, it is important for every patient that develops ESRD to discuss the various treatment options with his/her doctor before starting treatment.