There is no age limit or medical background requirement to do home dialysis. Talk with your doctor to determine which treatment option is right for you. If you start home dialysis, your care team will train you on everything you need to feel comfortable treating at home.
Home Dialysis
Dialyze from the comfort of home and enhance your quality of life.
What is home dialysis?
Home dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that lets you dialyze at home. This at-home treatment has many potential benefits, such as a more flexible treatment schedule compared to going to a dialysis center, a less restrictive diet and improved health outcomes.
There are two main types of home dialysis: peritoneal dialysis, where a solution is put into your abdomen, and home hemodialysis, where a machine filters your blood. You and your doctor will work together to decide which treatment is best for your needs.
Home Peritoneal Dialysis
Home peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a needle-free treatment that you can perform at home during the day or even at night while you sleep. It uses the peritoneal lining of your abdomen to filter waste from your blood.
Potential benefits of home peritoneal dialysis include:
- Functions more like natural kidneys
- Supports preservation of remaining kidney function, leading to better clinical outcomes1
- Better transplant success rate2
- Better blood pressure control3
Home Hemodialysis (HHD)
Home hemodialysis (HHD) works much like in-center hemodialysis but is done at home with the help of a care partner and a smaller, more user-friendly machine that cleans toxins from your blood.
Potential benefits of home hemodialysis include:
- Better transplant success rate2
- Shorter recovery time after treatments2
- Fewer medications required4
- Better blood pressure control3
Which treatment may be best for you?
Compare the potential lifestyle benefits of peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis, and in-center hemodialysis.
| – Blank Cell | Peritoneal Dialysis | Home Hemodialysis | In-Center Hemodialysis | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potential Lifestyle Benefits | Potential Lifestyle Benefits – Blank Cell | Potential Lifestyle Benefits – Blank Cell | Potential Lifestyle Benefits – Blank Cell | |||
| Flexible treatment schedule | Flexible treatment schedule – Yes | Flexible treatment schedule – Yes | Flexible treatment schedule – No | |||
| Needle-free treatment | Needle-free treatment – Yes | Needle-free treatment – No | Needle-free treatment – No | |||
| Fewer diet restrictions | Fewer diet restrictions – Yes | Fewer diet restrictions – Yes | Fewer diet restrictions – No | |||
| More opportunity to pursue work and life goals | More opportunity to pursue work and life goals – Yes | More opportunity to pursue work and life goals – Yes | More opportunity to pursue work and life goals – No | |||
| Fewer trips to dialysis center | Fewer trips to dialysis center – Yes | Fewer trips to dialysis center – Yes | Fewer trips to dialysis center – No | |||
| Free up daytime by dialyzing in the evening or overnight* | Free up daytime by dialyzing in the evening or overnight* – Yes | Free up daytime by dialyzing in the evening or overnight* – Yes | Free up daytime by dialyzing in the evening or overnight* – No | |||
| No care partner required | No care partner required – Yes | No care partner required – No | No care partner required – Yes | |||
| More social time with other dialysis patients | More social time with other dialysis patients – No | More social time with other dialysis patients – No | More social time with other dialysis patients – Yes | |||
| Greater ability to travel | Greater ability to travel – Yes | Greater ability to travel – Yes | Greater ability to travel – No | |||
Ready to take the next step in exploring home dialysis?
Get our downloadable guide and checklist to learn more, and share them with your loved ones and doctor.
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Explore home dialysis patient stories and educational articles.
I’m interested in home dialysis. Where do I start?
- Talk with your doctor
Even if you are currently receiving dialysis treatment in-center, home dialysis could still be an option for you. Speak with your doctor candidly about your interest in home dialysis. Ask about the potential benefits and any medical risks, as well as your treatment options and how your choice could affect your lifestyle and overall health. - Start home dialysis training
Once you and your doctor decide that home dialysis is right for you, you and your care partner (a friend or family member) will start a comprehensive safety and training program with your care team. Training is customized to meet your specific needs, and will provide you the education, tools and support needed to stay healthy and safe. - Get your home ready
Because you’ll perform treatments from home, you’ll need to make room to store equipment and supplies. Although the equipment and supplies you need vary based on your choice of treatment, it’s essential to make sure you have a comfortable and sanitary environment dedicated for your treatments. A member of your care team will visit your home to help ensure it is set up for success. - Receive ongoing care
Even though you do not have to treat at a center, it’s important to understand that you’re never alone when you do home dialysis. You will maintain regular contact with your doctor, dialysis nurses, dietitian and social worker who will closely monitor and track your care. In most cases, you’ll also make a monthly visit to meet with your health care team and talk regularly by phone about any issues or concerns.
Could home dialysis be right for you?
Download these printable PDFs to learn more and share with your loved ones and doctor.
Home Dialysis Guide
Getting Started Checklist
Convenient care to fit your lifestyle — wherever you may be.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Home Dialysis Care Partners
Care partners play an important role in the treatment of home patients. (HHD is more likely to require a care partner than PD.) Learn the basics of being a care partner so you can help take care of your loved one and yourself.
Service provider and modality selection are choices made exclusively between the patient and nephrologist.
*Not all patients are eligible to treat only at night. Your doctor will prescribe you dialysis according to your health needs and may order additional daytime therapy as residual renal function declines.
1 Paniagua R, Amato D, Vonesh E, Correa-Rotter R, Ramos A, Moran J, Mujais S. Effects of increased peritoneal clearances on mortality rates in peritoneal dialysis: ADEMEX, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2002 May;13(5):1307-1320. | 2 PD: Molnar, MZ et al. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 7: 332–341, 2012. HHD: Weinhandl, E et al. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2012 May; 23(5):895–904. | 3 Kotanko P, et al. Hemodial Int. 2015 Jul;19(3):386-401. doi: 10.1111/hdi.12255| 4 PD: Renal Resource Center. An Introduction to Peritoneal Dialysis. www.renalresource.com. HHD: Jaber BL et al. Am J Kidney Dis. 2010;56:531-539. Nocturnal: Buqeia A et al. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 Apr;4(4):778-783.