What is Dialysis?

Dialysis is a medical treatment that performs the functions of the kidneys when they fail. It removes waste products, excess fluid, and toxins from the blood and helps maintain electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, calcium) and blood pressure.

🧬 Why Is Dialysis Needed?

Dialysis is needed when a person has:

• Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): gradual loss of kidney function

• End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD): when kidneys lose 85–90% of function

• Acute Kidney Injury (AKI): sudden kidney failure due to illness or injury

• Certain poisonings (to remove toxins quickly)

Normal kidneys filter 120–150 quarts of blood daily. In failure, dialysis becomes vital.

🏁 Origin & History of Dialysis

🔹 Ancient Observations

Before modern medicine, doctors noticed that kidney failure led to:

• Swelling (fluid buildup)

• Uremia (toxic waste buildup)

• Confusion or death

But they couldn’t treat it.

🔬 Modern Development

🧠 Key Inventor: Dr. Willem Johan Kolff (1911–2009)

• Nationality: Dutch

• Year: 1943–1945

• Location: Netherlands

• Achievement: Created the first dialysis machine during World War II using everyday materials (sausage casings, washing machine parts, and a water pump).

➡️ In 1945, he successfully treated a woman with acute kidney failure using this early machine.

🌍 Evolution of Dialysis

🔄 Types of Dialysis

1. Hemodialysis

• Blood is filtered through a machine called a dialyzer.

• Takes 3–5 hours, usually 3 times a week.

• Performed in hospitals, clinics, or at home.

• Access is made through:

  • AV fistula (surgical connection of an artery and vein)

  • Graft (artificial tube)

  • Central venous catheter

2. Peritoneal Dialysis

• Uses the peritoneum (abdominal lining) as a natural filter.

• A sterile fluid called dialysate is inserted into the abdomen via a catheter.

• Waste is absorbed, then drained.

• Two main types:

  • CAPD – done manually several times a day

  • APD – done automatically by machine overnight

🧪 What Dialysis Does

• Removes urea, creatinine, and other toxins

• Regulates fluid balance

• Maintains acid–base and electrolyte balance

• Controls blood pressure

⚠️ Risks and Side Effects

• Low blood pressure (especially during hemodialysis)

• Fatigue and weakness

• Infection (especially with peritoneal dialysis)

• Muscle cramps

• Itching

• Nausea

• Blood clotting issues

👥 Who Needs Dialysis?

• People with eGFR (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate) <15 mL/min

• People awaiting a kidney transplant

• Some acute cases needing short-term dialysis

📊 How Often?

• Hemodialysis: 3 times a week, 3–5 hours each session

• Peritoneal dialysis: Every day (either throughout the day or overnight)

🔁 Dialysis vs Kidney Transplant

🌍 Dialysis Today

• Over 3 million people globally receive dialysis.

• More portable and wearable machines are being developed.

• Artificial kidneys are under research for future treatment.

🧠 Fun Fact:

The first patient successfully treated with dialysis lived for 7 years after treatment began — a medical miracle in the 1940s.