March 12, 2025

Many people are unaware of the fact that they could lose up to 80 per cent of their kidney function without even noticing any symptoms. That’s why the theme for this year’s World Kidney Day—“Are Your Kidneys OK? Detect Early, Protect Kidney Health”—centres on the importance of testing kidney health and detecting issues early on.

“The challenge is that usually when your kidney function is dropping, you don’t know. You don’t have any symptoms. So, it’s always important to go and get your kidney function checked,” says Dwight Sparkes, 54.

Testing can reveal unknown kidney complications

Sparkes, who lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, is all too familiar with the importance of kidney health testing. In 2014, hebegan experiencing alarming symptoms, when he went deaf in one ear and blind in one eye. He soon learned that he had developed a rare autoimmune disease called systemic vasculitis. While the condition causes inflammation of the blood vessels, it can lead to other complications, including chronic kidney disease.

Later that year, Sparkes had some simple blood and urine tests done to check his kidney function. They revealed that his kidney function had dropped to 34 per cent, and a subsequent biopsy revealed scarring on his kidneys. He was officially diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, which left him reeling. “I didn’t know anything about [kidney] disease, so I was trying to get my head around it, and that big change in lifestyle,” he explains.

Sparkes says that his autoimmune disease made him feel like things were spinning out of control—with his immune system attacking his eyes, lungs, and ears, he had a feeling of helplessness. But with kidney disease, he had more control over his situation. He began learning about ways to protect kidney health, for example by reducing his salt intake and managing his blood pressure. As a result, his kidneys regained some function.

Regular monitoring can catch issues before they escalate

However, in 2022, routine kidney health testing revealed that his kidney function had started to decline again. Just like whenhe was first diagnosed, Sparkes says that the decline would not have been detected without kidney function tests. “You have no idea that this is going on,” he stresses.

Sparkes became concerned that his kidneys would fail completely, and he would need dialysis. He went to the emergency room to try and find answers for this sudden decline in kidney function. Fortunately, he received treatment for the issue—a backed-up kidney, also known as hydronephrosis—and he was able to recover some of his kidney health yet again.

He emphasizes how beneficial those kidney function tests can be. “Get your kidney function checked on a regular basis, and treat your kidneys well,” he says, adding, “It’s best to be proactive.”

Since being diagnosed with kidney disease, Sparkes has shared his expertise and lived experience with kidney disease as a patient partner with the Can-SOLVE CKD Network. Early detection of kidney disease is a major area of focus for the network, which includes specialized programs to support early testing in populations at high risk of kidney disease and the development of tools to predict kidney function over time.

Dr. Adeera Levin, a nephrologist based at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver and co-principal investigator for the Can-SOLVE CKD Network, notes that detecting and treating kidney disease early is key to managing and preventing disease progression. Unfortunately, once kidney function is lost, the damage is often irreversible. Careful management of kidney health, which has been Sparkes’ approach, may result in some kidney function recovery, but not necessarily complete recovery.

Dr. Levin notes that many new medications are emerging that help preserve kidney function (e.g., SGL2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid inhibitors), allowing people to avoid ongoing heart and kidney health issues and enjoy higher quality of life for many more years than they would have without early detection and treatment.

“We are moving the needle in terms of effectively treating kidney disease and accompanying heart problems, and the earlier we can identify kidney disease, the better chance we have of halting the disease…but this means that people need to have their kidney function tested to identify the problems, so that we can really have the best impact,” says Dr. Levin.