Does Dialysis Replace Your Kidney Function?
Your kidneys remove excess fluid and waste from your bloodstream. This is the primary job of your kidneys. In addition to eliminating excess fluids and nitrogenous wastes from the body, kidneys perform other vital functions.
Kidneys produce some vital hormones that regulate important functions in the body. Chronic kidney disease hampers the production of these vital hormones in the body.
When your kidneys fail to produce these hormones due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) or end-stage kidney disease, they must be replaced in the body with medication.
For this reason, chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in the advanced stages of the disease may need supplements to compensate for the hormones their kidneys are unable to produce.
Therefore, dialysis can replace your kidney function only partially, but not completely. Let us try to understand this in more detail.
The Role of kidneys in the conversion of vitamin D into its active form
Kidneys convert vitamin D into its active form, calcitriol. Different factors and enzymes play a vital role in the production of calcitriol in the kidneys. Calcitriol helps in calcium absorption in the bones and maintains calcium and phosphate levels in the body. Impaired kidney function can hamper calcitriol production and thus lead to weak and brittle bones.
Dialysis cannot replace this vital function of your kidneys.
The Role of the kidneys in the synthesis of Red Blood Cells (RBCs)
Kidneys produce a hormone, erythropoietin (EPO). It signals and stimulates bone marrow cells to produce red blood cells. Kidney injury or chronic kidney disease can cause less EPO production, which eventually leads to decreased RBC production and anemia, a condition with hemoglobin and RBC deficiency.
Kidneys regulate EPO production based on the oxygen levels in the blood. When kidneys sense low oxygen levels, they increase EPO production and thus RBCs production to improve oxygen levels. With adequate levels of oxygen, EPO production decreases.
Dialysis cannot compensate for this vital role of your kidneys.
The role of the kidneys in regulating Blood pressure
Kidneys produce another vital enzyme, renin, that helps in regulating blood pressure. Kidneys release renin into the bloodstream when sodium levels are low. Renin helps in retaining sodium and water to improve blood volume and blood pressure. Kidneys thus help in regulating blood pressure. Injured, damaged, or diseased kidneys no longer regulate blood pressure.
Bottom Line
Dialysis helps remove waste, excess fluids, and some toxins from the blood, but it cannot fully replicate the kidneys’ complex roles. Kidneys also regulate hormones, blood pressure, red blood cell production, and maintain mineral balance— the functions dialysis cannot perform. Therefore, dialysis is a supportive treatment, not a true replacement for healthy kidneys.
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