Nephrologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School, Dr Vincent Boima, has advised persons to take good care of their kidneys.

According to him, most kidney patients in Ghana are within the age range of 20 and 50 years.

"The prevalence rate within Sub-Saharan Africa is 14 per cent. There are two injuries that the kidneys can suffer, such as acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease."

Explaining the differences between acute and chronic kidney disease conditions, he said, "Acute kidney injury is an abrupt injury to the kidneys and occurs within a short period and can be potentially reversed with treatment of underlying causes".

He said chronic kidney disease is an insidious injury to the kidneys that occurs within a long period and is potentially not reversible.

Dr Boima attributed exposure to heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury from 'galamsey' activities as risk factors for developing chronic kidney diseases.

"Water quality must be a concern for us as water bodies are polluted from these activities."

He called on the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to look at some over-the-counter medications non-steroidal anti-informatory drugs such as; Ibuprofen and diclofenac, among others that are risk factors for kidney disease.

He noted that tests can be done without waiting for symptoms to manifest since it might be too late for treatments to be undertaken.

"Also, people need to test the proteins in their urine, and that’s a good sign to determine if someone has kidney disease in the early stages.

"There are two types of treatments referred to as kidney replacement including dialysis and kidney transplantation when the condition gets to the end-stage."

Dr Vincent Boima advised, "Your kidneys are way better than the dialysis machine", so it’s better to take steps to prevent the development of kidney disease or delay its progression."

To reduce one's risk of falling victim to kidney diseases, Dr Boima advised that it is essential to have a change in lifestyle such as; no excessive alcohol intake, no smoking, losing weight, physical exercise, avoiding environmental toxin exposures etc. could be a good strategy in preventing kidney disease.

However, some people have been on dialysis for 15 years.

"If an individual wants to donate a kidney to someone, it could be a relative or a non-relative.

"He or she must do so without expectations of monetary payments or benefits and also Transplant Regulation frowns on the selling of kidneys," he said.