Hi mchau,

How do you know that one kidney has an GFR of 10 and the other of 30? Serum creatinine (from a blood test) can only tell you overall kidney function. If you were to find that one kidney is at 10 and the other at 30, I would have thought that overall function would be an average of the two, ie 20 (ish) but this may be wrong. I'm sure you don't add the two together to give 40 though. Whatever your GFR, there's no knowing how long you have until renal failure. Function may stabilise for a long time, decline slowly or decline quickly. It's difficult to predict this with any accuracy. Don't forget that creatinine does fluctuate, so you can't read too much into any one measurement.

Life expectancy of a transplanted kidney depends on many factors, but I understand that it can be up to 20 years. Again, it's the how long is a piece of string question.

I'm sure others in the group will be able to offer more knowledgeable comments.

Take care,

Chewitt

like Chewitt, I don't understand how they can tell what each kidney is putting out and I didn't understand whether function is determned by adding or dividing.
as to creatinine, a jump from 3.6 to 3.8 is pretty meaningless because many things, including how much water you drink, can cause these small changes.
how long IS a piece of string? I like that and it answers both your questions. we are all different and how you take care of yourself is a big part of the answer.

Thanks Chewitt and Spiderwoman for your replies.

My neph asked me to get a test done called DTPA, this is some nucleur medicine test to evaluate functioning of both kidneys and provides individual GFRs.

Hi mchau,

I looked up the dpta test (renogram) and it seems that it measures kidney function, excretion of urine and blood supply. It enables determination of how much each kidney contributes to total function. This gives some information:

http://www.insideradiology.com.au/pages/view.php?T_id=43#.Ul4-Jcu9KK0

In the light of this information, it may be that your total kidney function or Grfr is indeed 40. I think you need to ask your consultant to clarify this.

Chewitt

Thanks Chewitt, you are right I checked with my neph and he said the same.

Hi mchau. I had a renogram a few months ago. Chewitt is correct that this tests the ability of each kidney to 'throughput' urine and blood. My results were 4.6 for one kidney and 5.4 for the other, which apparently meant both kidneys were functioning equally well. I assume the total of both results should add up to 10. I wasn't aware that the renogram results gave any indication of GFR. I certainly wasn't told so, though bear in mind results are reported differently in different countries, so one can't always equate UK results to the US. Your neph needs to sit you down and talk through the various tests you need and explain how to interpret the results. As Spiderwoman says, test results can increase or decrease depending on how much water you have drunk, how much exercise you have taken etc. Good luck!

Thanks Dixie, thanks to all for your support and thank god we have this forum to share information, clear doubts.

take care