Home dialysis is just as effective as hospital dialysis

Following kidney transplants, patients notice very little survivability differences when using home dialysis instead of hospital dialysis, doctors explain.

Even after getting a kidney transplant, many must return to dialysis. Patients returning to dialysis notice higher risks of complications and death due to extended periods of time on dialysis.

A study found in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology, less than 20 percent of individuals returning to dialysis voluntarily choose home dialysis. However, death rates among home dialysis patients were no higher when compared to hospital dialysis patients during any time period for the study.

Home dialysis provides patients the ability to self-manage therapy and live independently, yet many patients still prefer hospital dialysis. Another name for home dialysis is peritoneal dialysis.

Dialysis is a process of pumping the body with cleansing fluids. These fluids help remove toxins from the blood.

While the overall number of patients receiving dialysis is on the rise, the number of home dialysis cases is decreasing. Experts predict patients returning to dialysis may be apprehensive to start again, or may feel as though treatment failed the first time.

Another reason experts stress the idea of home dialysis is the cost. Hospital dialysis costs much more than home dialysis.