Published: 17:07 BST, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 09:38 BST, 20 August 2026
After every surgery, I sit down and go through that day’s blood results, matching each one to the patient it belongs to. Most are normal. Some mean a phone call. A few are so alarming the lab rings us before I’ve even opened my laptop.
But there is one result that comes up again and again, for a condition most of my patients have never heard of, because it rarely causes any symptoms at all.
And I’m worried that there are countless patients across the country who do not realise they have this disease either.
Take Linda, who I spoke to last week. She has high blood pressure and takes medication for it, so has annual blood tests.
One of those tests checks kidney function, and combined with a urine test, it revealed she had something called chronic kidney disease.
Her first questions were: ‘What does that even mean? And is it serious?’
Chronic kidney disease, or CKD, affects one in ten adults in Britain – around 7.2million of us. Every year it contributes to an estimated 45,000 deaths – that’s more than the number of breast and prostate cancer deaths combined.
And yet the vast majority walk around with no idea they have it.
That is because CKD does not behave like other serious diseases. Think of it less as a single illness and more as a risk factor.
The kidneys essentially clean the blood – removing waste and excess water to make urine. But for those with CKD, the kidneys slowly stop functioning properly, meaning they remove less waste and water.
If symptoms of the condition do appear, they tend to be vague at first – tiredness, most commonly, as well as brain fog and itchy skin
The kidneys essentially clean the blood – removing waste and excess water to make urine. But for those with CKD, the kidneys slowly stop functioning properly, meaning they remove less
Eventually, the kidneys can give out completely – known as kidney failure – meaning dialysis (blood cleaning treatment) or an organ transplant will be needed.
Thankfully, however, this only affects around 2 per cent of CKD patients.
