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Home Dialysis Specialist

Metro Renal Associates

Nephrologists located in Washington, DC & Capitol Heights, MD

With less than 20,000 kidney donors available per year for the more than 100,000 patients in need of a kidney transplant, dialysis is the most common alternative for patients suffering from kidney failure. While effective, conventional dialysis requires long stretches of downtime in the doctor’s office, at Metro Renal Associates in Washington, DC, the team provides home dialysis for greater convenience and comfort during your care. To learn more, call Metro Renal Associates or schedule a consultation online today.

Home Dialysis Q & A

What is dialysis?

Hemodialysis, or dialysis, is a medical treatment for kidney failure that helps filter out waste from your blood, a job usually performed by your kidneys. For end-stage kidney disease, dialysis is the only option besides transplants.


How does dialysis work?

Dialysis mimics your body’s natural blood cleansing process using a device called a dialyzer. This device takes in your blood and filters it before returning the clean blood to your body, which your kidneys would ordinarily do if healthy. Given the complexity of the task, dialysis takes multiple treatments per week, with each treatment lasting three to five hours.


What can I expect during home dialysis?

While conventional dialysis requires frequent visits to the office for lengthy treatment sessions, home dialysis allows you to perform this treatment at home, providing greater comfort and more autonomy in the process.

If you choose to receive home dialysis, the team at Metro Renal Associates visits your home to provide the necessary equipment for treatment, including the dialyzer. They might recommend creating a space in your home specifically for treatment, as you’ll want the treatment process to be as comfortable and simple as possible.

Dialysis at home is similar to treatment at the office. You connect to the dialyzer through an access site, such as a vascular or peritoneal entry, and relax as the device cycles, cleans, and returns fluid to your body.


What are the benefits of home dialysis?

Home dialysis saves you the trouble of traveling to the office to receive treatment. Considering the frequency and length of time dialysis requires, home dialysis interferes far less with your daily life.

In addition, unlike conventional dialysis, home dialysis allows for more flexibility in treatment options. Rather than three or four weekly treatments that last between three and five hours, you can opt for more frequent but shorter treatment sessions or even overnight dialysis.

Another major advantage to home dialysis is the option for peritoneal dialysis. This dialysis method uses the lining of your abdomen, the peritoneum, to act as a filter for your blood. Peritoneal dialysis causes far fewer side effects and provides continuous treatment, much like your natural kidneys.

Current research suggests that shorter treatment sessions provide other benefits as well, including the need for less medication for blood pressure and anemia, as well as improvements to neuropathy.

If you require dialysis and are fed up with treatment cutting into your daily life, let the team at Metro Renal Associates help. Call the office to schedule your consultation or book an appointment online today.