The present invention relates to methods of prognosing the survival of a diseased subject, particularly a subject with chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as selecting an end-stage renal disease subject for a kidney transplant. The methods involve detecting an elevated amount of macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1) in a test body sample from the diseased subject. A method of preventing or reducing the risk of death in a CKD subject which involves removing or inactivating MIC-1 present in the blood, plasma or serum of the subject, is also disclosed.
