There are at least a hundred elements and electrolytes that are controlled by the kidney. The kidney controls the production of red blood cells. The kidney controls the number of red cells in the body. It has sensors that look at the oxygen content of the blood flowing through it, and if it detects that the oxygen concentration is low, it makes a hormone that increases the bone marrow's production capacity to make more red cells. The hormone level is critically important in people with normal kidney function, and people who have failing kidneys don't make this hormone, so one of the features of chronic kidney disease is the anemia that develops.
Patients feel horribly fatigued and are unable to make red blood cells.
The pharmaceutical industry has cloned the genes to make this hormone, and this medication replaces the natural hormone. It's hard to underestimate the impact that kidney health has on the function of the entire body. Without the function of the kidney, we couldn't regulate the levels of electrolytes and hormones and fluid balance. We would be like fish out of water. Inc. All rights reserved.