Dear Reader,
In contrast to the brain, the heart, and perhaps the guts, all we usually think about the kidneys is that they make urine. But when the kidneys don’t work, whether we’re old or young, we die unless we receive heroic treatment and therapies based on new, expensive technologies. Nearly a million Americans every year have end-stage kidney disease and about 37 million have some form of chronic kidney disease.
The Body’s Keepers is a compelling exploration of the kidney, unraveling its intricate role as the regulator and metronome of the human body’s delicate equilibrium. On a given day, minute by minute, kidneys purify the body of toxins it encounters from diet, climate, activity and injury—they allow us to be and to move in the world. In The Body’s Keepers, renowned nephrologist Paul Kimmel, M.D., takes us on an eye-opening journey through the history of kidney failure, dialysis, and transplantation. Drawing on both his extensive research and decades of experience in the field, he explains the development of treatments, technologies, and medical practices that have advanced the care of patients suffering from debilitating kidney disease and offers a clear understanding of the challenges that remain. | 
