Scientists Have Developed A Bionic Kidney That Can Replace Kidney Dialysis

A team of researchers in the University of California are on a  path-breaking revolution that can actually solve all the kidney related issues. The researcher’s team are on the development procedure of artificial kidney which is implantable. This artificial kidney can actually work as same as the real kidneys.

If the development of artificial kidney is successful, there would actually be no need of dialysis. There has been a huge rate of success in the kidney transplant procedures  for the patients with severe kidney or renal diseases.

The recent researches have proved it that 93 percent of the people with kidney transplant are just working fine after a year and 83 percent are even working after 3 years without showing any kind of issues.

According to the data of 2016, more than 25,000 kidneys are gone through the transplantation procedure each year but on the other side more than100,000 people are in the need of kidney transplant each year.

On an average, a patient has to wait for five to ten years for a healthy and suitable kidney

Dialysis is another artificial process that eliminates the toxins from the bloodstream but it cannot filters out all the toxins and this procedure must be performed on a regular basis when it is done at home via peritoneal dialysis and if it is hemodialysis, the patient has to visit the clinic three times a week. Shuvo Roy, a professor in the UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and co-inventor of the device, explains this artificial kidney as the best alternative to dialysis and other external devices that can hamper the regular lifestyle or limit the mobility of the patience.

Yes, it is true that getting a well matched donor and transplanting kidney from them is still the  best treatment option for the ESRD but unfortunately, the shortage of organ donors is a big issue and here comes the advantage of a bionic kidney. The best part of opting for artificial kidney instead of choosing kidney transplant is that it does not need the patients to be on the immunosuppressive drugs to avoid rejection.

Roy has claimed that this device can help  a huge number of the people who are now on the list of dialysis and kidney transplant procedures. This device is a perfect solution for a long span of time and it could be the best alternative to the kidney transplant procedure.

Now it’s time to know how this device works actually-

Bio-artificial kidney performs most of the tasks just like the normal kidneys. The tasks include filtration, balancing and many other biological functions of normal kidneys.

This device is powered by body’s natural blood pressure and that’s the reason why it doesn’t need any external tubes that are commonly associated with the artificial kidneys that are wearable.

These artificial kidneys are developed with the silicon nanotechnology which makes the compact filtering membranes which is actually very much reliable.

The novel molecular coatings used in this system protects the silicon membranes and makes them completely compatible with the blood.

People with the bionic kidney implants may still need to take hormonal supplements on a regular basis just like they need to have in the case of dialysis.

“The long-term challenges center around keeping the device operating trouble-free after implantation beyond a few months,” said Roy. “Some problems won’t become clear until we do clinical trials.”