End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
What are the Options Once Kidney Failure is Advanced (End-Stage Renal Disease)?
It is time to make plans for renal replacement therapy (dialysis, transplant) when kidney function falls to 20 percent of normal (since it will be needed for survival once kidney function drops to less than 10 percent of normal); sooner in children who are not thriving. This is called end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or Stage 5 chronic kidney disease. Assuming that patients have been followed, evaluated and treated as described above, they may be healthy enough to receive a pre-emptive transplant, that is, without first requiring dialysis. This usually requires that a living related kidney donor (e.g., parent or sibling) is available.