Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) Test
If all is found to be well following the full medical evaluation then the next step is to undergo a Glomerular Filtration Rate Test. The test is used to check how well the kidneys are working. It estimates how much blood passes through the glomeruli each minute (glomeruli are the tiny filters in the kidneys that filter waste from the blood).

The test lasts all day because it charts the rate at which a radioactive isotope (Technetium-99m DTPA) is filtered in the blood over a period of four hours. In the morning the isotope is injected into one of your arms. Four vials of blood are then drawn from the other arm two, three, three and a half and four hours after the injection.

GFR Tests are completely safe because the amount of radioactivity in the isotope is minimal.

My Story
My test was conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary in the Department for Nuclear Medicine. Unfortunately, my test had to be conducted twice because the first sets of results were inconclusive. Both times I was given the radioactive isotope in my right arm and then I rested in the waiting room. Two hours later I went through for the first of the four blood tests. The experience wasn’t great, but then I do have an aversion to needles and this particular test uses plenty of them!

Once the second set of results had come back I was told that my kidneys were functioning at 98%, which meant we could happily proceed to the next round.

Advice
My advice would be to take someone with you to this test if you can, primarily because waiting around can be fairly dull but also due to the fact that the procedure can be a little painful.

The good news is that at this stage of the proceedings you can be fairly confident that your overall health is in pretty good shape.