Glossary

A transplant kidney removed from someone who has died. Now, usually called deceased donor transplant.

A type of drug which is recognised by the body as if it is calcium (i.e. 'mimics' the effect of calcium). May be used to help lower the blood level of calcium in people with kidney failure and problems with calcium levels in the blood. The main example used in children is cinnacalcet.

A mineral that strengthens the bones. It is contained in some foods, including dairy products. It is stored in the bones and is present in the blood. The kidneys normally help to keep calcium in the bones. In kidney failure, calcium drains out of the bones, and the level of calcium in the blood also falls.

The medical word for kidney stones - small pieces of mineral which can form in kidneys. The plural is calculi.

A tube inserted through the skin into a blood vessel or cavity to draw out body fluid or infuse fluid. Examples include a urinary catheter inserted into the bladder, a peritoneal dialysis catheter used to infuse dialysis solution into the abdominal cavity or a haemodialysis catheter inserted into a large blood vessel and used for haemodialysis.

Abbreviation for chronic kidney disease. This is when kidneys don't work properly for more than 3 months.  It is divided into stages 1 to 5 depending on the percentage of kidney function. 

Abbreviation for cytomegalovirus. A virus that normally causes only a mild ‘flu-like’ illness. In people with a kidney transplant (and in other people whose immune system is suppressed), CMV can cause a more serious illness, affecting the lungs, liver and blood.

Means "existing at birth".

A waste product from protein in the diet and from the muscles of the body. Creatinine is removed from blood by the kidneys; as kidney disease progresses, the level of creatinine in the blood increases.  The level of creatinine in the blood can be used to estimate the level of kidney function (eGFR).

Before a transplant, the donor's blood is tested with the recipient's blood to see whether there will be any reaction.  A negative cross-match means no reaction is seen and the transplant can go ahead.

A small sac that forms in an organ such as the kidney.  A kidney cyst usually contains fluid. Cysts are not normal but are not always harmful.

A type of infection that causes inflammation of the bladder.

An x-ray in which a catheter is inserted into the bladder, which is then filled with a special dye that shows up on x-ray.  It is used to look for vesico-ureteric reflux to look for abnormalities of the bladder.