Is Kidney failure genetic?

Hello, my boyfriends Dad has been a Kidney patient for the past 13-15 years, and I was wondering whether this condition is genetic? Is he and his other siblings at risk?

About the only genetic renal disease I'm familiar with is Polycystic Kidneys. There are some auto-immune diseases (i.e Lupus) that may or may not be genetic. Polycystic kidneys are easy to diagnose with ultrasound. Majority of renal failure prpblems are either acquired or happenstance. Check a good medical web site for better info: Mayo Clinic, Web MD,Emedicine or such. Definitly inquire further with his dad since the boyfriend may be at risk, but do it tactfully.

Kidney failure is due usually to a disease you have will cause kidney failure. It is not genetic or contagious.

maybe none of my family has had so i dont no!!!

no, my cousin's kidneys just failed, and no one in hsi family has ever had kidney failure. but things like malnutrition could cause it. that's what they think caused it in him. but if you bf ever gets a white film in his mouth, get it checked out. his doctor thought it was thrush, but that mostly only happens in babies, and they found out later that it's a rare sign of kidney failure. he'll also be tired, really pale (almost a wierd yellow color) and he'll have headaches a lot.

there are a few genetic kidney conditions that can lead to kidney failure, mostly polycystic kidney disease, but if your boyfriend had one of them he'd probably know about it because they tend to show symptoms quite early in life. your boyfriend should ask his dad which condition caused his kidney troubles, and then ask a healthcare professional what that means for his own future.

Hi - My dad died of a kidney disease when I was 7 years old, but we didn't know til I was an adult that it was hereditary. I luckily don't have it, althought my sister and brother all do. It's polycystic kidney disease. Ironically, while this has nothing to do with my family's disease, my daughter has a kidney failure which was due to a defective bladder and is waiting for a transplant. So there are many different causes of kidney problems and it's good to know the medical history. Here's my daughter's story, if you're interested. http://www.xanga.com/i_korn