Causes of Kidney failure

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The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure.

Diabetes can cause kidney failure if a person does not manage their diabetes properly. If too much sugar (glucose) is in the blood, it can attack tiny units inside the kidney called nephrons. It is these nephrons that carry out the filtering process, so if they do not work, the kidney will stop functioning.

High blood pressure causes damage by putting strain on the small blood vessels in the kidneys. This prevents the filtering process from working properly.

Other causes include:

A kidney inflammation called glomerulonephritis;
Kidney infections such as pyelonephritis;
Polycystic kidney disease, an inherited condition in which both kidneys are several times the normal size, due to the gradual growth of masses of cysts;
Nephrosclerosis, in which hardening of the kidneys occurs as a result of disease of the arteries;
Failure of normal kidney development in an unborn baby while developing in the womb;
Systemic lupus erythematosus, a disease of the immune system where the body attacks the kidney as though it were foreign tissue;
Malaria;
Yellow fever and jaundice;
Certain medicines;
Blockages (for example, due to kidney stones); and
A sharp blow or physical injury to the kidney.