CKD

Chronic kidney disease (or CKD) means kidney disease which will not get better.  

We think about it in stages from 1 to 5:

• Stage 1 is the mildest form and kidney function is not reduced at all
• Stage 2 is where kidney function (eGFR) is mildly reduced - 60-90% of normal
• Stage 3 has kidney function which is more reduced (eGFR 30-60%)
• Stage 4 has kidney function at 15-30% and children usually start preparing for a kidney transplant
• Stage 5 is kidney function <15% and a transplant or dialysis is usually required now or in the near future

There is more information about CKD elsewhere on this website.  If your child has recently been diagnosed with CKD, you may want to look at Help, my child has kidney disease! to explain the terms we use and signpost you to other sources of information and support. 

Elsewhere on the internet, you can find information on CKD on the following sites:

• InfoKID
• Kidney Care UK (more focussed on adults with CKD)
• Kidney Research UK has a range of pages explaining what kidneys do and how they can go wrong