Show Captions. If life is like a river, than the longer it is, the better. And America has more than its share of long, winding rivers, from serene waterways through the plains to rushing rapids in canyons to enormous channels that are the lifeblood for commerce and transportation in the region. Think you know what America's longest river is?
Average life expectancy on dialysis is 5-10 years, however, many patients have lived well on dialysis for 20 or even 30 years. Talk to your healthcare team about how to take care of yourself and stay healthy on dialysis.
The typical patient will live 10 to 15 years longer with a kidney transplant than if kept on dialysis. The increase in longevity is greater for younger patients, but even 75-year-old recipients (the oldest group for which there is data) gain an average four more years of life.