Q&A: Are There Alternatives To Dialysis?

Q: Are there alternatives to dialysis for kidney failure? – Leela

A: Unfortunately, the only alternative to dialysis is a kidney transplant. There are three different kinds of dialysis to choose from:

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1. Hemodialysis: This is the most common form of dialysis. You are required to go to a dialysis center several days a week for 3-4 hours per visit. Hemodialysis is a serious responsibility, but you don’t have to shoulder it alone. You’ll work closely with your health care team, including a kidney specialist and other professionals with experience managing hemodialysis.

2. Home hemodialysis: Patients who decide to do home hemodialysis are equipped with a dialyzer and are trained how to use it. The hardest part of the training for patients is learning how to do needle sticks. Many home hemodialysis patients dialyze every night. This takes longer, but is often gentler on the patient’s body because the filtration rate is slower. The lab values of many of these patients often completely normalize.

READ: Can Diabetics Avoid Kidney Disease?

3. Peritoneal dialysis: This method uses a membrane inside your body (peritoneal membrane) as a filter to clear waste and extra fluid from your body and to return electrolyte levels to normal. Unlike in-center hemodialysis, you do not need to travel to a dialysis center for your treatment. Instead, after being trained at a dialysis center, you will do your treatment at home on your own schedule. Peritoneal dialysis can often be done at night, while you are sleeping.