MedicineNet.com has one of the better overviews of kidney failure and dialysis that I’ve seen, including the best single-paragraph explanation of kidney failure on the net:
Healthy kidneys clean the blood by filtering out extra water and wastes. They also make hormones that keep your bones strong and blood healthy. When both of your kidneys fail, your body holds fluid. Your blood pressure rises. Harmful wastes build up in your body. Your body doesn’t make enough red blood cells. You develop fatigue, nausea, and loss of appetite. When this happens, you need treatment to replace the work of your failed kidneys.
The overviews are flawed in their simplification and lack of depth—home dialysis isn’t mentioned in the dialysis section (but is in the kidney failure section), for example, and nocturnal dialysis isn’t mentioned at all—but it’s a pretty good start.
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