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Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood as well as they should, and the damage slowly gets worse over time. High blood pressure and diabetes are two common causes of CKD. There is no cure for CKD, but you can talk with your doctor about taking steps to keep your kidneys working for as long as possible.

  • More than 1 in 7, that is 15% of US adults or 37 million people, are estimated to have CKD. 1
  • More than one million Michigan adults (age 20+) have CKD. 2
  • About 90% of people with CKD are not aware of their condition. 1
  • Early CKD often has no signs or symptoms.
  • Specific blood and urine tests are needed to check for CKD.

The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Health & Human services present the Michigan Chronic Kidney Disease Prevention Strategy 2021-2026 (pdf). The latest plan focuses on kidney disease prevention, early detection, and management and control efforts across Michigan.

References:
1Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States, 2021 (cdc.gov)
2National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (nkfm.org)

chronic kidney disease
  • Kidneys are very important for maintaining good health. While each of the kidneys are just the size of a computer mouse, the kidneys filter all the blood in the body every 30 minutes. The tiny filters work hard to remove waste, toxins, and excess fluid.

  • Talk to your doctor about getting tested if you have any of these risk factors…take a quick test!

    • Diabetes
    • High Blood Pressure
    • Heart Disease
    • Obesity
    • Family History of CKD

    Are your kidneys at risk?  Understand your risks and kidney health

    How does diabetes cause kidney disease? Visit the American Diabetes Association (ADA)


  • CKD often doesn’t have symptoms, so regular testing is necessary to find and treat CKD early. A urine test and a blood test are done together to check kidney health. People with diabetes should be screened for kidney disease every year. If you have other risk factors, talk to your doctor about getting screened.


  • The five stages of CKD refer to how well your kidneys are working. Kidney disease can get worse in time. The goal at each stage of CKD is to take steps to slow down the damage to your kidneys and keep your kidneys working as long as possible.

  • Organ donation is the process of surgically removing an organ or tissue from one person (the organ donor) and placing it into another person (the recipient). Transplantation is necessary because the recipient’s organ has stopped working or has been damaged by disease or injury.

    • Learn more about organ donation and transplantation
  • Dialysis is a treatment for kidney disease that does some of the things done by healthy kidneys. It is necessary when your own kidneys no longer work well enough to remove the wastes and toxins from your blood.