Hemodialysis is a treatment where blood is filtered outside the body with a dialysis machine. During hemodialysis, blood is drawn off from a blood vessel and passed through a synthetic filter, called a dialyzer. In this dialyzer the blood is cleaned before being returned to the body, therefore, this dialyzer is the so called ‘artificial kidney’. Hemodialysis is generally performed for at least four hours three times a week weekly, usually in a dialysis unit.
An alternative to a clinic based dialysis treatment is being treated in a familiar environment at home. Different types of home dialysis allow patients to adapt their treatment to their everyday routine. However every type of treatment has its own challenges.
When hemodialysis is best
With modern dialysis machines, three hemodialysis sessions a week, each lasting for a minimum of four hours are usually what you’ll need and during this time patients are connected to the dialysis machine. It’s really quite remarkable when you consider that the dialysis machine is trying to achieve in twelve hours treatment per week what healthy kidneys do around the clock, day in, day out. By taking the right steps, together we can help you lead a life as healthy as possible.