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Anemia in chronic kidney disease: the symptoms, the causes, the tests, iron, ESA medicines, and food
For anyone with kidney disease who was told their hemoglobin or iron is low; anyone with kidney disease who is tired, weak or short of breath and wondering why; anyone on dialysis being given iron or ESA shots; and anyone looking after someone with kidney disease. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what anemia is and why damaged kidneys cause it, how common it is and who has it; the symptoms, when to get care right away, and the heart; the blood tests; iron, vitamins, ESA medicines and blood transfusions; and food. It builds the words to say to your care team, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card for your numbers.
Right now
- Chest pain that won’t go away? NIDDK says: call 911. Trouble breathing or short of breath? NIDDK says to get medical care right away. Ours: if you believe it is an emergency, call 911. See heart attack and stroke.
- Is it all too much, or is someone thinking of ending their life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page · When it’s your kidneys · Kidney failure: choosing a treatment · Mineral and bone disorder in kidney disease.
- Related: Anemia · When blood sugar goes too low or too high · When it might be a heart attack · When it might be a stroke.
- Getting ready: My medicines · Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment · When you can’t afford your medicine · When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Kidneys, bladder or urine, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for bladder infections, kidney stones, blood in the urine, bladder pain, bladder leaks, the prostate, kidney disease and bedwetting, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or dietitian has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease (last reviewed September 2020) and its Spanish page Anemia en la enfermedad renal crónica (last reviewed September 2020), which say the same. The numbers (more than 37 million American adults may have CKD; more than 1 out of every 7 people with kidney disease are estimated to have anemia; most people with kidney failure also have it; people older than 60 are more likely to have it) are NIDDK’s. NIDDK gives no target number for hemoglobin, and neither do we. Ours: “if you believe it is an emergency, call 911” (NIDDK names 911 for chest pain that won’t go away); 988; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the section on clinical trials, the journal articles NIDDK cites, and NIDDK’s links to other sites. We name treatments only by the kinds NIDDK names: no brand and no dose. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.