Dialysis and Kidney Transplants

This lesson covers what happens when the kidneys fail and the treatments available — dialysis and kidney transplants. You need to understand how each treatment works, their advantages and disadvantages, and be able to evaluate them for Edexcel GCSE Biology (1BI0) Topic 7.

---

What Is Kidney Failure?

Kidney failure (also called renal failure) is when the kidneys can no longer adequately filter the blood. This means:

• Urea and other waste products build up in the blood to toxic levels.
• Water balance cannot be properly regulated (risk of oedema — fluid build-up in tissues).
• Ion balance is disrupted, which can affect nerve and muscle function (including the heart).
• If untreated, kidney failure is fatal.

Causes of Kidney Failure