A method for predicting mortality of a test patient with acute kidney injury comprising (a) detecting the expression level of the non-coding RNA (ncRNA) of SEQ ID NO: 1 in a blood sample obtained from said test patient with acute kidney injury, (b) comparing said expression level of the ncRNA with the expression level of this ncRNA in a blood sample obtained from control patients with acute kidney injury or with a predetermined standard expression level of this ncRNA which was obtained on the basis of a blood sample from control patients with acute kidney injury, wherein the control patients were alive at least about 4 weeks after diagnosis of the acute kidney injury, and a greater than 1.5-fold overexpression of the ncRNA in the test patient's blood sample as compared to the control patients' blood sample or as compared to the predetermined standard is indicative of an enhanced likelihood for future death of the test patient due to renal failure; and/or (b') comparing said expression level of the ncRNA with the expression level of this ncRNA in a blood sample obtained from control patients with acute kidney injury or with a predetermined standard expression level of this ncRNA which was obtained on the basis of a blood sample from control patients with acute kidney injury, wherein the control patients died from renal failure within about 4 weeks after diagnosis of acute kidney injury, and a greater than 1.5-fold underexpression of the ncRNA in the test patient's blood sample as compared to the control patients' blood sample or as compared to the predetermined standard is indicative of an enhanced likelihood for the long term survival of the test patient; and/or (b") comparing said expression level of the ncRNA with the expression level of the ncRNA in a blood sample obtained from a healthy subject or with a predetermined standard expression level of this ncRNA which was obtained on the basis of at least one blood sample from a healthy subject, wherein a greater than 5-fold overexpression of the ncRNA in the test patient's blood sample as compared to the healthy blood sample or as compared to the predetermined standard is indicative of an enhanced likelihood for future death of the test patient due to renal failure. (a) detecting the expression level of the non-coding RNA (ncRNA) of SEQ ID NO: 1 in a blood sample obtained from said test patient with acute kidney injury, (b) comparing said expression level of the ncRNA with the expression level of this ncRNA in a blood sample obtained from control patients with acute kidney injury or with a predetermined standard expression level of this ncRNA which was obtained on the basis of a blood sample from control patients with acute kidney injury, wherein the control patients were alive at least about 4 weeks after diagnosis of the acute kidney injury, and a greater than 1.5-fold overexpression of the ncRNA in the test patient's blood sample as compared to the control patients' blood sample or as compared to the predetermined standard is indicative of an enhanced likelihood for future death of the test patient due to renal failure; and/or (b') comparing said expression level of the ncRNA with the expression level of this ncRNA in a blood sample obtained from control patients with acute kidney injury or with a predetermined standard expression level of this ncRNA which was obtained on the basis of a blood sample from control patients with acute kidney injury, wherein the control patients died from renal failure within about 4 weeks after diagnosis of acute kidney injury, and a greater than 1.5-fold underexpression of the ncRNA in the test patient's blood sample as compared to the control patients' blood sample or as compared to the predetermined standard is indicative of an enhanced likelihood for the long term survival of the test patient; and/or (b") comparing said expression level of the ncRNA with the expression level of the ncRNA in a blood sample obtained from a healthy subject or with a predetermined standard expression level of this ncRNA which was obtained on the basis of at least one blood sample from a healthy subject, wherein a greater than 5-fold overexpression of the ncRNA in the test patient's blood sample as compared to the healthy blood sample or as compared to the predetermined standard is indicative of an enhanced likelihood for future death of the test patient due to renal failure.