A new drug could offer an alternative to dialysis or kidney transplant. Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas are testing a new drug that reduces kidney damage and slows the progress of kidney disease, possibly preventing kidney failure. Today, the only real treatments for kidney failure are dialysis or transplant.
Dialysis is expensive and painful.
Organs for transplant are in short supply. As many as ten people who are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant die every day. This new drug also could increase the number of kidneys available for transplant because it helps weaker kidneys function better, even after a transplant. That means that kidneys that otherwise might not be suitable for transplant could be used. The UT Southwestern doctors also have developed a new test for kidney function.