Hemodialysis is a medical treatment that filters waste products from the blood when the kidneys are no longer able to do.
What is hemodialysis?
Hemodialysis is a treatment to filter wastes and water from your blood, as your kidneys did when they were healthy.
What happens during hemodialysis?
During hemodialysis, your blood goes through a filter, called a dialyzer, outside your body. A dialyzer is sometimes called an “artificial kidney.” At the start of a hemodialysis treatment, a dialysis nurse or technician places two needles into your arm. The dialysis machine pumps blood through the filter and returns the blood to your body.
What happens to my blood while it’s in the filter?
Blood enters at one end of the filter and is forced into many, very thin, hollow fibers. As your blood passes through the hollow fibers, dialysis solution passes in the opposite direction on the outside of the fibers. Waste products from your blood move into the dialysis solution. Filtered blood remains in the hollow fibers and returns to your body.
Where can I have hemodialysis?
You can receive treatment at a dialysis center or at home.
Dialysis center
Most people go to a dialysis center for treatment. At the dialysis center, health care professionals set up and help you connect to the dialysis machine.
Home hemodialysis
Home hemodialysis lets you have longer or more frequent dialysis, which comes closer to replacing the work healthy kidneys do—usually three to seven times per week, and with treatment sessions that last between 2 and 10 hours.
How do I prepare for hemodialysis?
Dialysis is a complex treatment that takes time to understand. Because most people don’t feel sick until shortly before starting dialysis, you’ll likely still feel well when your doctor first talks to you about getting ready for dialysis. No one wants to start you on dialysis before you need it, but it takes time to prepare for dialysis.
Take care of the blood vessels in your arms
It’s important for you to protect the veins in your arm prior to starting dialysis. If you have kidney disease, remind health care providers to draw blood and insert IV lines only in veins below your wrist; for example, ask them to use a vein in the back of your hand.
Vascular access surgery
One important step before starting hemodialysis treatment is having minor surgery to create a vascular access. Your vascular access will be your lifeline through which you’ll connect to the dialyzer.
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