Treatment Options

Hemodialysis

 

Hemodialysis uses a machine to process and clean your blood. You are connected to the machine through common medical tubing you have probably seen in doctors' offices. Your blood passes through a filter in the dialysis machine and then returns to your body through the tubes..

 

Time Commitment: Hemodialysis usually requires 3 treatments each week. Each treatment lasts 3-4 hours.

 

Peritoneal Dialysis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peritoneal dialysis, or PD, is a process by which a warmed solution called dialysate enters your peritoneal cavity (part of your abdominal cavity) through a small catheter that is surgically placed there as an access point. It absorbs wastes and excess fluid from your blood and is then drained and replaced with fresh dialysate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Commitment: Peritoneal dialysis is usually performed at home on a daily basis, usually requiring 4 to 5 fill-and-drain exchanges each day, or at night while you are sleeping.

 

Kidney Transplant

 

A successful transplant replaces your kidney with one that functions properly. Donors are ideally a blood relative, but you can also be put on a waiting list. It is important to note that transplants are not guaranteed, and the wait-time can last months or years. Until a transplant is performed, you will need to seek dialysis therapy.