Someone with chronic kidney disease has two main options. They can get a transplant to receive a healthy kidney from a donor. Or they can start dialysis, a treatment where blood gets filtered either by a machine or in the belly with the help of a special tube.
You might think that a transplant is more of a last resort, the thing to do when you’ve run out of options. But that’s hardly the case. For most people, doctors prefer transplant over dialysis.