What are kidneys? Your kidneys are two of the most important organs in your body. Without them your body just couldn’t work properly. The kidneys make urine (wee/pee), and do many other important things for your body. Your kidneys are inside your body on either side of the spine just under your back ribs, but you can't feel them with your hands.

Size Each kidney is about the size of your own clenched fist or a computer mouse.  They have an unusual shape - kidney beans are named after them because they have the same shape. Shape

What kidneys do? The kidneys do quite a few important jobs that help to keep your body working well.

Kidneys check the nutrients that you get from food The kidneys are on clean-up duty every minute of every day. To stay healthy, your body needs the right amount of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins and all the other things that our body needs to function well). You get nutrients from the different foods that you eat. Kidneys check and control the minerals, vitamins and other nutrients that you get from your food and send anything that is not needed off where it gets made into the urine (wee/pee). The urine made by your kidneys travels down to your bladder through tubes called the ureters, and when the bladder feels full enough, it sends a message to your brain that tells you to go to the toilet to get rid of the urine.

Kidneys make urine to get rid of extra water and waste products

Kidneys keep the right amount of water in your body Your body needs the right amount of water for it to work properly. The kidneys make sure that they let just enough water stay in the body and get rid of the rest.

Kidneys can change your blood pressure GO! The kidneys make a hormone – a special chemical messenger made by your body - that tells your heart how hard to pump blood around your body – this is called blood pressure. This hormone can make blood pressure go up when a higher pressure is needed to make sure that blood gets to all parts of your body.

Kidneys help the body make red blood cells which carry oxygen around your body The kidneys also make another hormone that tells you body when to make more red blood cells. Red blood cells in your blood carry oxygen around your body , which keeps it working properly.

Kidneys produce vitamin D to keep your teeth and bones strong Vitamins are substances that your body needs so that it can work properly. Vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium from dairy products (food produced from milk) and some other foods that you eat. Calcium is a mineral that you need to keep your bones and teeth strong.

When kidneys don’t work well

Your body can work quite well with only 1 kidney Your body can still work quite well with only one kidney, as long as that kidney is healthy.

If both kidneys stop working for good Dialysis = If both kidneys are badly damaged, they may stop being able to do their important jobs. If this happens, a person will need a special treatment to help them to feel better and stay alive— something called dialysis or a new kidney. If both kidneys stop working for good Transplant

Haemodialysis Dialysis Peritoneal dialysis Dialysis takes the place of what the kidneys do and remove water and waste from the body. There are two kinds. In one kind, called haemodialysis, the patient with kidney problems usually needs to go to hospital and be connected up to a special machine that acts like a kidney to wash and clean the blood. The person's blood travels through tubes to the machine which removes extra fluids and waste. Once the blood is cleaned, the machine sends it back to the person through another tube. In the other type of dialysis, called peritoneal dialysis, fluid is moved in and out of the belly through a tube, and the waste products come out the same way Dialysis

Transplant – a new kidney Sometimes people whose kidneys have stopped working need to get a kidney transplant, which means that a new kidney from another person, often someone in the family, is put into their body to replace the function of their own kidneys. Once a person has their new kidney, dialysis isn’t needed anymore.

Keep your kidneys healthy Most people have healthy kidneys and there are lots of things you can do to help keep your kidneys healthy.

Kidneys like water a LOT! Drink enough water every day Kidneys like water a LOT!

Don’t eat food with too much salt! Don’t eat foods with too much salt – this increases your blood pressure and damages your kidneys.

Don’t eat food with too much sugar or have too many soft drinks!

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables!

Keep active! Play sports!

Do NOT smoke!

Do NOT take drugs!

www.worldkidneyday.co.uk World Kidney Day is a joint initiative