Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.
Normally, the kidneys filter the blood, removing harmful waste products and excess fluid and turning these into urine to be passed out of the body.
There are 2 main types of dialysis: haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis:
• haemodialysis involves diverting blood into an external machine, where it’s filtered before being returned to the body
• peritoneal dialysis involves pumping dialysis fluid into the space inside your abdomen (tummy) to draw out waste products from the blood passing through vessels lining the inside of the abdomen
These two treatments are explained, together with the pros and cons and side effects of each treatment on the NHS website at the link below:
