Kidney disease means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. Chronic kidney disease, also known as CKD or chronic renal disease, is a condition characterized by a gradual loss of kidney function over time. Chronic kidney disease includes conditions that damage your kidneys and decrease their ability to keep you healthy by filtering wastes from your blood. If kidney disease worsens, wastes can build to high levels in your blood and make you feel sick.
If you experience kidney failure, treatments include dialysis or a kidney transplant. Dialysis is a type of treatment that helps your body remove extra fluid and waste products from your blood when the kidneys are not able to. A kidney transplant is a surgery to place a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly.