Dialysis

When your kidneys are healthy, they clean your blood. They also make hormones that keep your bones strong and your blood healthy. When your kidneys fail, you need treatment to replace the work your kidneys used to do. Unless you have a kidney transplant, you will need a treatment called dialysis.

What is Dialysis?

Dialysis is a treatment method that replicates the function of the kidneys when they are failing. In healthy individuals, the kidneys work to filter and remove waste products, excess fluid, salts and toxins from the blood.

Renal Replacement Therapy

Dialysis Types

Indications for Dialysis

Benefits and Disadvantages of Dialysis

Latest Dialysis News and Research

Using AI models to improve prediction of CKD's progression to end-stage renal disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex condition marked by a gradual decline in kidney function, which can ultimately progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

9 Sep 2025

Trump administration investigates Medicaid spending on immigrants in blue states

The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.

5 Sep 2025

Lubiprostone shows promise in slowing kidney disease progression

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue worldwide. Many patients end up requiring regular dialysis to avoid kidney failure and stay alive.

1 Sep 2025

Constipation drug found to slow renal function decline in CKD patients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue worldwide. Many patients end up requiring regular dialysis to avoid kidney failure and stay alive.

29 Aug 2025

Small peptide produced by gut bacteria identified as key factor in kidney fibrosis

A molecule made by bacteria in the gut can hitch a ride to the kidneys, where it sets off a chain reaction of inflammation, scarring and fibrosis - a serious complication of diabetes and a leading cause of kidney failure - according to a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Mie University in Japan.

25 Aug 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 60th, Medicare and Medicaid!

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed landmark legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid. Sixty years later, the programs represent a fifth of the federal budget and provide coverage to nearly 1 in 4 Americans.

21 Aug 2025

Genetically-engineered immune cells show promise for preventing organ rejection

A Medical University of South Carolina team reports in Frontiers in Immunology that it has engineered a new type of genetically modified immune cell that can precisely target and neutralize antibody-producing cells complicit in organ rejection.

17 Aug 2025

Trial finds no cardiovascular benefit and higher safety risks with spironolactone in dialysis patients

A large international study has found that spironolactone, a medication for high blood pressure and heart failure, does not reduce the risk of heart-related death or hospitalizations in people with kidney failure receiving dialysis, despite earlier smaller studies suggesting benefit.

17 Aug 2025

New blood markers predict kidney disease and mortality in diabetes

Kidney complications in diabetes often progress silently, putting patients at risk of life-threatening outcomes long before any symptoms appear. Identifying individuals with diabetes who are at risk of rapid kidney function decline or early death has challenged doctors for decades, with traditional markers like serum creatinine and urinary albumin falling short of accurately predicting these risks.

29 Jul 2025

Study reveals persistent inequalities in children's access to kidney transplants across the UK

New research, presented at the ESOT Congress 2025, reveals persistent inequalities in children's access to life-saving kidney transplants across the UK.

1 Jul 2025

Study finds no evidence to suggest mild COVID-19 may cause long-term kidney damage

A new study of over 13 million people in England has found no evidence to suggest mild COVID-19 infection may cause long-term kidney damage.

19 Jun 2025

Blood test detects early signs of liver transplant rejection

Liver transplant is a lifesaving surgery, but a significant number of patients experience organ rejection or other complications.

17 Jun 2025

Vaccination linked to better kidney outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Vaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who developed acute kidney injury had better outcomes than unvaccinated patients with the same condition, new research suggests.

14 Jun 2025

WHO warns of imminent shutdown of Gaza’s key hospitals

WHO warns that the Gaza Strip's health system is collapsing, with Nasser Medical Complex, the most important referral hospital left in Gaza, and Al-Amal Hospital at risk of becoming non-functional. There are already no hospitals functioning in the north of Gaza.

6 Jun 2025

Study: Deceased-donor kidney transplants do not benefit all patients equally

A major international study, being presented today at the 62nd ERA Congress, reveals that the long-accepted survival advantage of deceased-donor kidney transplantation does not extend equally to every patient and every donor organ.

5 Jun 2025

Necrosis may hold the key to unlocking longevity and space health solutions

The process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new study from researchers at UCL, drug discovery company LinkGevity and the European Space Agency (ESA).

29 May 2025

Silence on E. coli outbreak highlights how Trump team’s changes undermine food safety

Colton George felt sick. The 9-year-old Indiana boy told his parents his stomach hurt. He kept running to the bathroom and felt too ill to finish a basketball game.

28 May 2025

Personalized gene editing corrects fatal infant metabolic disorder in world-first treatment

Researchers have used a personalised base-editing gene therapy to successfully treat an infant with carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency, a rare and life-threatening inborn error of metabolism. This pioneering approach chemically corrects the underlying mutation without cutting DNA, showing promise for precision treatment of ultrarare genetic disorders.

20 May 2025

World's first-in-human bladder transplant marks milestone in urologic surgery

Surgeons from Keck Medicine of USC and UCLA Health have performed the world's first-in-human bladder transplant.

18 May 2025

Natural compound fisetin protects blood vessels from hardening

A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) Volume 17, Issue 4, on April 2, 2025, titled "Fisetin ameliorates vascular smooth muscle cell calcification via DUSP1-dependent p38 MAPK inhibition."

6 May 2025