Niven Hopkins, 28, Lives With Stage 5 Kidney Failure After Gout Led to Rare Genetic Diagnosis
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Jun 3
Niven Hopkins, 28, Lives With Stage 5 Kidney Failure After Gout Led to Rare Genetic Diagnosis
2 articles · Updated · Newsweek · Jun 3
Summary
Nine hours of nightly automated peritoneal dialysis now keep 28-year-old engineer Niven Hopkins alive after a June 2024 gout attack led doctors to discover kidney failure.
Genetic testing later traced the damage to a rare inherited condition; Hopkins said he had missed earlier signs including fatigue, foamy urine, back pain and brain fog.
A London Marathon time of 3:43 helped him raise £4,000 for Kidney Care UK as he began sharing his story to show severe kidney disease can strike young, active people.
His next step is a transplant: Hopkins said his father is being tested as a live donor while he continues dialysis and urges others to get unusual symptoms checked early.