Hemodialysis Access
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is for people who have kidney failure.
When you have kidney failure, your kidneys are
not able to cleanse your blood of wastes, including
urea, and extra fluid. This process takes about
three hours and is done three times a week.
There are two types of dialysis for people with
kidney failure:
- Hemodialysis, where the
blood is withdrawn from the body into a machine
that uses a special membrane (dialyzer) to filter
wastes and remove extra fluid from the blood.
Hemodialysis also restores the electrolyte balance
in the blood.
- Peritoneal dialysis,
where a fluid is placed into the abdominal cavity
through a special tube called a catheter and
is left in place for several hours, after which
it is removed. The fluid removes wastes and
extra fluid from the body.
Are there any other treatments for kidney
failure?
Other than dialysis, kidney
transplantation is the only other option for
people with kidney failure. In kidney transplantation,
a kidney received from an organ donor or a living
relative is placed into the body and takes over
the function of the failed kidneys. Kidney transplant
is the desired goal for most people with kidney
failure. However, due to a shortage of donor kidneys,
the majority of people with kidney failure are
on dialysis.
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