Every March, we pay special attention to the kidney, an organ vital to a healthy life. Social Security wants to help spread the word about the importance of kidney health and about what you should do if you think you or a loved one has a kidney-related disability.

Kidney disease prevents your kidneys from cleansing your blood to their full potential.   Did you know that one out of three Americans is currently at high risk for developing kidney disease? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 million Americans have chronic kidney disease, and most of them don’t even know it.

Ebie is a prime example. Ebie was an emergency room worker with an active life at work, home, and in his community. He had no idea he’d developed a kidney condition until one day he felt ill while driving to work and had to call a coworker for help. 

Our Faces and Facts of Disability website features Ebie’s story. He says people who receive Social Security disability benefits “can provide for themselves better and have a high quality of life.” As Ebie explains, many people with kidney diseases can greatly increase their quality of life with Social Security benefits. You can learn more about Ebie’s story at www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityfacts. 

If a kidney disease such as end-stage renal disease (known as ESRD) requires chronic dialysis and prevents you from working, Social Security may be able to help you. If you’re undergoing dialysis, have had a kidney transplant, have persistent low creatinine clearance levels, or have persistent high serum creatinine levels, you may qualify for disability and/or Medicare benefits. You can find more information about eligibility based on kidney disease and the benefits available to you by reading our publications, Disability Benefits and Medicare, both available at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs.

Listed as one of Social Security’s Compassionate Allowance conditions, kidney cancer is another condition that may qualify you for disability and Medicare benefits. The Compassionate Allowances program assists in cases where a person’s medical condition is so severe it obviously meets Social Security’s disability standards—allowing quick processing of the disability application and payment of benefits. You can find more information about Compassionate Allowances by visiting our website at www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances.

Drink plenty of water, go for checkups, and if you think you may have a kidney disease, take action right away! As Ebie says, “quality of life is everything.” 

If you think you may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits based on a kidney disease, please don’t wait. Go to www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityssi, where you can apply for benefits online.

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A KIDNEY patient is being trained to perform dialysis on himself to help fit his treatment around his full-time work.

Staff at Basildon Hospital’s renal unit are training Colin Ashburn, 46, who suffers from kidney failure, to use specialist equipment to clean his blood so he can continue his job as a health and safety manager, in London.

The hospital encourages kidney patients to have dialysis at home, but the equipment is very bulky and Mr Ashburn, like many patients, has no room for it at home.

The married father-of-two, from Tilbury, said: “My employers are very accommodating about my condition, and I work my full hours by starting very early in the morning.

“But the job involves a lot of meetings and planning ahead, and that has to be fitted around the appointments in the renal centre, and what times the nurses have available.

“Being able to come into the renal unit and operate the equipment myself at times to suit me will make life a lot easier.”

Mr Ashburn has never smoked, does not drink alcohol, eats a healthy diet of fresh food and used to run ten miles after work – so he was shocked to be diagnosed with kidney failure three years ago.

In addition to his full-time work, he volunteered as a special constable for ten years, but six years ago his blood pressure and cholesterol levels rose suddenly, and as a former paramedic, he knew something was wrong.

He said: “I went from being really fit and active to feeling so tired I could hardly get out of bed, and having severe headaches.

“After a long time of trying to find out what was wrong, I changed my GP.

“The new one did a blood and urine test and sent me straight to hospital.”

Colin is on the list for a kidney transplant. Several people have offered to donate, but none of them were the right match, so for now, he is hoping to get a call from hospital on one of three mobiles he keeps with him at all times.

He cannot go on holiday with his family for this reason, but says he keeps a positive attitude and believes that he will be lucky enough to get a transplant.

He said: “Obviously I can’t do everything I want to do with my family, but my wife is really supportive and understanding.

“The kids have come to see me having dialysis to help them understand why I can’t always play with them.

“But in the meantime, being able to come and go at Basildon Hospital to suit my schedule will make a big difference. The care here has been fantastic, I really can’t fault it.”

Renal unit sister Santhy(CORR) Gopalan(CORR), who is training Colin to use the dialysis equipment, said: “Colin is a wonderful patient, like all our patients.

“He is learning very quickly because of his paramedic training, but of course we will take time to teach anyone to do self-care, if they want to do it and are suitable.”

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