Perspective:

Although in some parts of the world acute and chronic kidney diseases are preventable or treatable disorders, in many other regions, these diseases are left without any care. The goals for nephrology in the next decade should be to reduce the burden of preventable causes of acute kidney injury in low-income countries and promote affordable renal replacement therapies, as well as to make worldwide interventions available that help combat the burden of chronic kidney diseases with selective screening, infant and maternal health care, and prevention and treatment of curable diseases. We also need to develop new drugs for kidney diseases, create new methods for diagnosis and treatments for inherited kidney disease, and develop and apply bioengineering sciences to repair damaged tissues and generate new organs. Although kidney transplantation is the best available treatment for kidney failure, the supply of renal allografts is insufficient to meet the demands. New and more effective strategies are needed, including the use of self-repair of human tissues and organs. Finally, in view of the common causes and consequences of chronic kidney disease with other non-communicable diseases, integration of screening for kidney disease into national or regional disease management programs will be important.