Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp’s death: 1 in 10 New Zealanders have kidney disease

Around one in 10 New Zealanders are believed to be living with the disease which Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp had when she died.

Among Māori and Pasifika, who are genetically predisposed to having kidney disease, the rate may be as high as one in five.

Kemp, who died this morning aged 50, was diagnosed with kidney disease in July last year.

What causes kidney disease?

The condition prevents the kidneys from filtering fluid and waste from the body, and puts a person at greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

It is usually caused by high blood pressure, diabetes, or autoimmune conditions. The symptoms - tiredness, weight loss, puffy skin - often only emerge when the disease is well-advanced.

“Each kidney’s got a million nephrons, or filters, in it,” Merryn Jones, national clinical manager at Kidney Health NZ said. “And each of those have got a tiny, tiny blood supply around them. So when you’ve got high blood pressure, it’s like putting an industrial fan on a cobweb, and they get damaged.”

Diabetes also damages blood vessels, including the vessels in the kidneys.

Jones noted that kidneys naturally lose function as people age, around 2% a year after age 60 and 1% a year after age 45.

“So the sooner we can pick up a modifiable condition the better so that we have that normal course of kidney decline, rather than an accelerated kidney decline,” she said.

How is kidney disease treated?

Chronic kidney disease is irreversible but can be slowed or halted with treatment.

This can involve managing blood pressure, medication, and lifestyle changes - stopping smoking, a healthier diet, exercise, weight loss, and drinking more fluids.

When most of the kidney is damaged, and function is less than 15%, patients require more intensive treatment like dialysis or a kidney transplant.

1News reported that Kemp was on the wait-list for a new kidney.

According to Health NZ’s website, around 400 people are waiting for a transplant in New Zealand, and around 100 kidneys are donated a year. Experts said the typical wait was between two to four years.

The key criteria for getting a new kidney are whether the organ matches the patient, and how long they have been waiting. Jones said some patients got lucky and a good match was found relatively quickly. Others waited years without a match.

Dialysis involves filtering the blood of toxins using an artificial kidney outside of the body. This usually takes place in hospital or a specialised unit, three times a week for five hours. Herald reporting has previously shown that dialysis treatment units are desperately under-resourced in New Zealand.

Other patients can have dialysis at home while they are sleeping, which involves placing a tube into the stomach to filter out waste.

Am I at risk?

Jones said that any patient with risk factors for kidney disease should ask their GP for an annual checkup. These factors included diabetes, hypertension, family history of kidney disease, or being Maori, Pasikifa, Asian or Indian.

The checkup involves a blood test or a urine test. These tests measure levels of protein, urea or creatinine, which are all indicators of kidney problems.

“If we can support people with early detection of either diabetes or high blood pressure, we’re likely to stop the trajectory or the progression of chronic kidney disease,” Jones said.

“We lose too many good people to this disease.”

Isaac Davison is a senior reporter who covers Auckland issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics, social issues, and healthcare.

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