Hemodialysis:

• A way to artificially cleanse wastes and extra fluid from the blood. Blood is pumped out of the body through a machine for cleansing and then returned back into the body
• It is usually needed three or four times a week and each treatment may last up to 4 hours
• A strict diet must be followed with a variety of medicines and supplements

Peritoneal Dialysis (PD):

• A permanent soft tube called a catheter is used to fill the abdomen with a cleansing liquid called dialysis solution
• The walls of the abdominal cavity are lined with a membrane called the peritoneum. The peritoneum lets waste and extra fluid pass from blood into the dialysis solution. Waste and fluid then leave the body when the dialysis solution is drained. This is called an exchange
• PD patients must also follow diet restrictions though it is not as strict as Hemodialysis diets

Kidney Transplant:

• This is a process where a healthy kidney is placed from another person into the body
• The new kidney takes over the work of the two failed kidneys
• The donated kidney may come from a living donor or from someone who has just died

Did you know? During the transplant the damaged kidney is left inside the body.