What is dialysis?

In medicine , dialysis is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement of lost kidney function ( renal replacement therapy ) due to renal failure. Dialysis may be used for very sick patients who have suddenly but temporarily lost their kidney function ( acute renal failure ) or for quite stable patients who have permanently lost their kidney function ( stage 5 chronic kidney disease ) .

For patients with stage 5 , or end-stage kidney disease ( ESKD ) , kidney function decline occurred over a period of several months to a year until the level has been reached in which the treatment was necessary for survival . Unlike acute renal failure (ARF ) ( Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)), chronic renal failure can not be cured or reversed , and long-term procedures required to replace lost kidney function . Treatment ESKD that most naturally replaces lost kidney function kidney transplant . However , some patients are not good candidates for transplantation due to medical or other reasons , some can not get transplants because not enough donor kidneys, and others have simply decided that transplantation is not the best option for them . As a result , most patients with ESKD must rely on dialysis to replace the water and waste removal functions of a healthy kidney.

The kidneys play an important role in maintaining health. When healthy kidneys maintain internal balance of the body of water and minerals ( sodium , potassium, chloride , calcium, phosphorus , magnesium, sulfate). Those acidic end products of metabolism , the body can not get rid of the breath , and is excreted through the kidneys. The kidneys also function as part of the endocrine system erythropoietin production and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol ( calcitriol ) . Erythropoietin is involved in the production of red blood cells and calcitriol plays a role in bone formation . Dialysis treatment for replacement of imperfect kidney function as it does not correct the endocrine function of the kidneys. Dialysis treatments replace some of these functions through diffusion (waste removal ) and ultrafiltration ( fluid removal ) .