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.

Benefits and Disadvantages of Dialysis

Renal Replacement Therapy

Dialysis Types

Indications for Dialysis

Latest Dialysis News and Research

Fermented soy boosts memory in older adults

Findings from a study reveal that fermented soy may boost memory function in older adults, especially postmenopausal women, offering dietary cognitive support.

9 Oct 2025

Identifying Alport syndrome in children through universal age-3 urine screening

The most common first diagnosis of Alport syndrome in Japan is during the universal age-3 urine screening.

7 Oct 2025

Inactive blood marker SDMA emerges as potential predictor of cardiovascular risk in CKD

When University of Texas at Arlington researcher Paul J. Fadel and his colleagues launched a study on vascular health in people with chronic kidney disease, they expected to better understand a long-standing belief.

3 Oct 2025

Inflammation at the heart’s core: What clinicians and families can do now

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a key driver of cardiovascular disease, even when cholesterol is controlled. The ACC’s 2025 Scientific Statement highlights hsCRP as a routine risk marker and outlines lifestyle and pharmacologic anti-inflammatory strategies for prevention and treatment.

30 Sep 2025

Stem cell treatment could help millions of people with end-stage kidney disease

More than 4 million people worldwide have end-stage kidney disease that requires hemodialysis, a treatment in which a machine filters waste from the blood.

24 Sep 2025

New dialysis filter shows promise for improving survival and health in kidney failure patients

Researchers at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) and Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry have launched a clinical trial that is evaluating a new type of dialysis filter called Elisio HX that may significantly improve outcomes for people living with kidney failure across Canada.

22 Sep 2025

Tai chi improves memory and sleep in older adults with type 2 diabetes

A 12-week randomized trial found that remotely delivered Tai Chi significantly enhanced cognitive performance and sleep quality in older adults with Type 2 Diabetes. These gains surpassed those from supervised fitness walking or usual care, without increasing adverse events.

17 Sep 2025

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