Bioartificial Kidneys

During the summer before my senior year of high school, I shadowed a Nephrologist and observed his hospital rounds. This experience sparked my love for kidneys and made me realize my interest in medicine. I decided to major in biomedical engineering because of my desire to work in the medical field. I wanted the opportunity to work with technology to solve health issues.

One major issue for nephrology is the lack of transplant organs. In 2021, the U.S. had “more than 550,000 dialysis-dependent patients and 100,000 patients waiting for kidney transplants, yet only 20,000 transplants are performed each year” (Boettner Harvard). The Kidney Project is currently working on a bioartificial kidney to help patients with kidney disease avoid transplant waiting lists. The prototype bioartificial kidney is made up of the hemofilter and the bioreactor. The hemofilter “removes waste products and toxins from blood, and the bioreactor, which replicates other kidney functions” (Gadye UCSF). Although the bioartificial kidney is not as effective as a transplant it will not require patients to take immunosuppressant drugs which have many side effects. After a kidney transplant, most patients are required to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their life.

One of the goals of the bioartificial kidney is to give patients a better treatment plan than dialysis. When a patient has chronic kidney disease it does a lot of damage to their overall health due to the importance of the kidneys. Typically, a person will go on dialysis when experiencing kidney failure or lack of function. Dialysis is a machine that filters a person’s blood when their kidneys are unable to. Although it is a life-saving treatment, it is very burdensome to patients’ lives. Normally a patient will be on dialysis for the rest of their life or until they get a kidney transplant. Bioartificial kidneys will improve the chances of patients getting off of dialysis and not having to deal with transplant waiting lists.