Disability Doc

6.02 Impairment of renal function, due to any chronic renal disease that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months. With:

A. Chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis (see 6.00E1).

When renal failure worsens to “end stage renal disease” (creatinine clearance of about 10 mg/dl or less), the kidneys no longer effectively filter waste from the blood, and either kidney transplantation or dialysis is needed to keep the patient alive.

Hemodialysis - removal of toxic waste form the blood by filtering it through an artificial kidney machine
Peritoneal dialysis - type of dialysis in which dialyzing solution is introduced and removed from the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity either continuously of intermittently

Listing 6.02 A. cannot be met until an individual actually begins dialysis, though it is not uncommon for individuals to have an arteriovenous (AV) shunt inserted in preparation for dialysis 6-12 months prior to beginning dialysis.

If an individual is undergoing dialysis and meets listing 6.02 A., but the alleged onset date (AOD) is prior to the onset of dialysis in a Title II case, SSA will have to assess evidence for the period prior to meeting 6.02 A to decide if a Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) is appropriate, or to see if the claimant equals or meets another listing for that period.

If a kidney biopsy was performed, evidence should include a copy of the report of the microscopic examination of the kidney tissue (pathology report). If the pathology report of the biopsy is not available, SSA will accept a statement from an acceptable medical source that a biopsy was performed, with a description of the results.