Let me tell you about something serious. Two years ago, my brother underwent a kidney transplant. Funny thing is his kidney failure was an extreme result of Urinary Tract Infection. Not everyone who has UTI suffer the risk of kidney failure. However, if UTI is not promptly treated, it can lead to kidney failure in worst cases.
This means that both of his kidneys stopped working (also called complete renal failure) and that he needed to undergo dialysis for the rest of his life or have a kidney transplant.

Dialysis is a process that involves the artificial replacement of the kidney functions. The human kidneys are part of the body’s endocrine system. To simply state it, the kidneys help in maintaining the body’s balance of fluids and minerals and generally are cleansing machineries for our blood. Without the proper function of the kidneys, our blood, in essence, would be impure enough to weaken our immune system significantly. Dialysis, therefore, takes on the kidneys job but usually temporarily and inaccurately. Although, dialysis helps, it cannot and does not take the place of our natural kidneys.

Kidney transplant, on the other hand, is a more “natural” way of solving the problem of chronic renal failure. However, a kidney transplant is not simple and finding a donor is not easy. I have known some patients who have waited for years to find a compatible donor. There is also a risk of rejection even after a successful transplant operation. A kidney recipient is indeed considered lucky if he is diagnosed promptly and if a tissue- and blood-compatible donor is found. That entails a lot of tests and processes for both the donor and recipient. Once a compatible donor is found, the transplant can be done.

In my brother’s transplant experience, the doctors would often comment on how lucky he was. No, he is not lucky to have chronic renal failure at the age of 25, but he is lucky and blessed enough to have found a kidney donor so quickly, and a compatible donor at that! Still, our family and friends are happy and thankful that he survived. So to all people who has UTI, please do take it seriously. UTI in itself is not so scary, it can easily be treated for a few days. The problem lies in its complications. Lesson learned?