Helpful links for patients

Home dialysis equipment

  • On June 8, 2005, the federal Food and Drug Administration held an Advisory Panel meeting on nocturnal home hemodialysis equipment. Download the agenda and background document.
    download
  • Used or reconditioned dialysis machines for the US and around the world:
    • Jihua Medical Apparatus and Instruments Co., Ltd - Machines in China, Chile, Malaysia, Dominic Republic, Russia, Turkey, India, Indonesia and so on. 2-year warranties; service available.
      view site
    • G.I.A. Medical - Wholesale dialysis machines: Althin, Baxter, Cobe, Fresenius, Gambro. Website in English and Spanish.
      view site
    • Total Quality Medical - Brands such as Cobe, Fresenius, Baxter, and Althin. Also dialysis chairs, defibrillators, dialyzer reprocessing equipment, and more.
      view site
    • Wil-Med Global - Every make and model available, full warranty on all equipment. Also chairs, carts, etc.
      view site
  • Read the fascinating history of dialysis on the Fresenius website.
    view site
  • See Fresenius Medical Care's Newton™ IQ Cycler System. SPONSOR
    view site
  • See B. Braun's Dialog Plus (Dialog+™) home hemodialysis machine.
    view site
  • Renal Solutions' Allient™ Sorbent Hemodialysis System is self-contained and uses less water.
    view site
  • The NxStage System One is a flexible, portable home hemodialysis machine. SPONSOR
    view site
  • Baxter's HomeChoice PRO™, HomeChoice™, and Quantum™ machines can be seen here.
    view site
  • The Immobile family of products, from T.N.T. Moborg International Ltd., helps to secure PD catheters, temporary access catheters, fistula needles, and vascular blood lines—and reduces complications such as infection.
    view site
  • Water treatment system components are described.
    view site
  • Learn HCPCS codes for home dialysis supplies and equipment.
    view site

Dialysis facilities

  • DaVita - dialysis provider SPONSOR
    view site
  • DialysisFinder
    view site
  • Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI) - dialysis provider SPONSOR
    view site
  • Dialysis Facility Compare - compares characteristics and measures of dialysis quality between centers
    view site
  • Dialysis Units in the USA - allows search by treatment option
    view site
  • Diversified Specialty Institutes (DSI) - dialysis provider SPONSOR
    view site
  • Diyaliz.net - includes the adresses and phone numbers for dialysis centers in Turkey; provides information about hemodialysis, PD, and transplantation
    view site
  • Fresenius Medical Care North America - dialysis provider SPONSOR
    view site
  • Global Dialysis
    view site
  • Home Dialysis Coverage - high-quality maps showing all PD, conventional, daily, nocturnal, and all-home-hemo coverage in the United States
    view site
  • North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System's Nephrology Department - dialysis provider
    view site
  • Northwest Kidney Centers SPONSOR
    view site
  • Quotidian Home Dialysis - provider of short daily and nocturnal home hemo dialysis services in southern California
    view site
  • Renal Advantage - dialysis provider SPONSOR
    view site
  • WellBound - dialysis provider SPONSOR
    view site

Dialysis quality & oversight

  • Download the report of the 2001 Task Force on Daily Dialysis and see how the research agenda matches up with the currently funded NIH study.
    download
  • ESRD Networks oversee dialysis quality and collect data. Learn more and find your own Network at the Forum of ESRD Networks site.
    view site
  • Read the NIDDK description of the randomization feasibility study to look at comparing in-center thrice-weekly hemodialysis with daily and nocturnal hemodialysis.
    view site
  • A clinical trial of nocturnal hemodialysis in St. Louis is now enrolling patients ages 21-75.
    view site
  • A comparison study of in-center hemodialysis to home nocturnal dialysis will start enrolling patients this fall.
    view site

Vascular access & buttonhole

(Fistula First tools provided courtesy of the Northwest Renal Network)

  • Fistula First A vascular access (a way to get the blood to and from the artificial kidney) is your lifeline if you choose hemodialysis. There are three types of access, and a fistula is preferred if you can have one. The grid below was compiled as part of Medicare's Fistula First program to increase the use of fistulas in the U.S.
    download
  • MediSystems makes buttonhole needles in a variety of sizes
    download
  • Techniques and Troubleshooting AV Fistulas
    download
  • Presentation on Cannulation Training
    download
  • Dialysis patient Bill Peckham self-cannulates using the Buttonhole technique
    view video
  • How to Do the Buttonhole Technique
    download
  • How to Cannulate a New Fistula
    download
  • Avoiding Clamp Use with Fistulas
    download
  • Assessing Dynamic Venous Pressure
    download
  • Checklist of Catheter Indications
    download
  • Algorithm for Permanent Vascular Access
    download
  • Starting a Buttonhole & Cannulating a Buttonhole (with step-by-step instructions and diagrams)
    view site
  • Buttonhole Method of Needle Insertion into an AVF video demonstrates a patient self-cannulating his AVF using the Buttonhole (constant-site) technique.
    view site
  • Read the "hows" and "whys" of the buttonhole technique
    view site
  • See a photo of a fistula and read about how Judy learned to put in her own needles
    view site

Kidney organizations

  • The Life Options program is dedicated to helping people live long and live well with kidney disease, with a wealth of free info for patients and professionals.
    view site
  • The Alport Syndrome Foundation is a non-profit organization providing a central location for information about this genetic kidney disease. Their site is designed for patients and families, to create an opportunity to meet and talk to other families who are dealing with Alport Syndrome, and to ultimately support research aimed at curing the disease.
    view site
  • The American Association of Kidney Patients is a membership organization with a magazine, free materials, and an annual patient meeting. SPONSOR
    view site
  • The American Kidney Fund offers direct financial help to patients, and much more.
    view site
  • DaVita Patient Citizens is a patient-governed dialysis patient organization dedicated to improving dialysis patients' quality of life by developing awareness of dialysis-related issues and advocating for dialysis and pre-dialysis patients.
    view site
  • The purpose of the International Society for Hemodialysis is to improve care for patients with kidney failure, upgrade teaching of dialysis, promote dialysis research, facilitate dissemination of dialysis knowledge, and have a voice in dialysis-related matters.
    view site
  • Kidney Care Partners is an alliance of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, providers, and suppliers working together to improve the quality of care for patients.
    view site
  • The Kidney Transplant/Dialysis Association (KT/DA) provides financial aid, information, and emotional support to kidney patients and families.
    view site
  • Join a patient or professional council of the National Kidney Foundation.
    view site
  • The Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation (OHF) is a gateway to information about these kidney-stone-producing conditions.
    view site
  • The Renal Support Network (RSN) was established to help kidney patients develop their personal coping skills, special talents, and employability by educating and empowering them to take control of managing their disease.
    view site

Patient education

  • Read the NKF's Family Focus issue on Home Dialysis, Spring, 2005:
    download
  • Download In Touch newsletters about aspects of day-to-day life with PD, provided by Baxter.
  • DaVita Diet Helper - makes it easier to plan kidney-friendly meals and prepare and track using this online dialysis-diet tool. SPONSOR
    view site
  • Truth about Dialysis - a campaign launched by DaVita at Home in order to help patients and health care professionals find out the truth about home dialysis. SPONSOR
    view site
  • Kidney School™ - a free, interactive, online kidney learning center offered by Life Options, on 16 topics like Coping, Diet, Vascular Access, and more!
    view site
  • Read our Topics of the Month, original Home Dialysis Central content, covering a wide array of topics dealing with dialysis.
    view site
  • Try the AAKP's NEW My Chart. Sign up for free to track your own lab test records with this confidential self-management tool!
    view site
  • The AAKP offers a brochure called Understanding Your Peritoneal Dialysis Options. Download it here!
    view site
  • The AAKP offers a brochure called Understanding Your Hemodialysis Options. Download it here!
    view site
  • My Med Schedule® is a great medication reminder and it is free! Your personal medication chart clearly shows the times you should take each medicine or supplement, and how much to take. There are even images of your pills so there is no confusion.
    view site
  • See videos about vascular access in three formats from the Renal Network.
    view site
  • Download free informational booklets and brochures from the Renal Resource Centre in Sydney, Australia!
    view site
  • Renalinfo offers information about hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, including how they work and how to cope with changes in life style, travel, exercise, family, and friends.
    view site
  • Learn how dialysis works and the benefits of nocturnal home hemo from an Australian website operated by Dr. John Agar.
    view site
  • Check out Kidney Health Australia for dialysis blogs, "Wee Week," and more.
    view site
  • The U.S. National Kidney & Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) offers free kidney disease info.
    view site
  • Download or order free booklets from the NKUDIC.
    view site
  • The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission offers information on chloramines in tap water for home hemo patients.
    view site
  • Lab Tests Online is a noncommerical, patient-centered resource for informaton on lab tests used in screening, diagnosing, and monitoring kidney disease.
    view site
  • Scroll down the chart on this page to see how much typical plumbing and wiring changes for home hemo may cost.
    view site
  • The NKF is the only UK charity run BY Kidney patients FOR kidney patients. Its aim is to promote, throughout the United Kingdom, the welfare of persons suffering from Kidney Disease or Renal failure and those relatives and friends who care for them.
    view site
  • Read online or download free copies of "It's Your Life - A Practical Handbook for Chronic Ailments" and "The Caregiver's Manual", each based on over 13 years' experience as a primary caregiver.
    view site

Patient sites & stories

  • Nocturnal home hemo started in Canada. Read the story.
    download
  • Nancy Spaeth went through a life-and-death committee to get dialysis in 1966—nocturnal home hemo! Learn about her fascinating story.
    view site
  • Gus is a frequent poster in our message boards, and has his own site to share his experiences of daily home hemo at WellBound, using the NxStage machine.
    view site
  • KidneyFun.com is a great place for everyone to hang out, have fun, and discuss kidney disease, dialysis, and everything else. Includes a chat room with MP3 player, an arcade with over 3,500 games, a virtual casino, and MUCH more!
    view site
  • They're not negative, they just hate dialysis. A place to rant, vent, or share experiences living with kidney disease. A site for patients, by patients.
    view site
  • Read a patient's day-by-day journey with the NxStage machine, with pics and videos.
    view site
  • An on-line store created by a patient for patients, with many unique products for anyone effected by kidney disease.
    view site
  • Meet Jeanette and find out why she chose home hemodialysis and how it works for her.
    view site
  • Shirley and her retired husband, Richard, took their hemodialysis home.
    view site
  • Read a 1996 story of William's experience doing home dialysis.
    view site
  • Richard had been on dialysis for 28 years when he wrote this story in 1996.
    view site
  • George and his wife traveled the U.S. in an RV, dialyzing as they went.
    view site
  • Dialysis—and giving birth to a healthy baby?
    view site
  • Several patients share their stories of life with nocturnal home hemo.
    view site
  • A Fresenius clinic in Flint, Michigan, offers nocturnal hemodialysis three nights a week—in-center.
    view site
  • Patients comment on nocturnal home hemo—pros are in blue, cons are in red.
    view site
  • Dr. Carl Kjellstrand won the International Hemodialysis Society's Annual Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hemodialysis. Read his keynote address about dialysis successes and failures.
    view site

Prescription drug information

  • Learn about Medicare Part D and how to choose a plan that will work best for you.
    view site
  • Look up drug doses, side effects, interactions, and more.
    view site

Dialysis-related videos

The Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology (CIMIT) presents a great lecture, Quest for a Wearable Kidney: Will Nanotechnology Make a Difference?, presented as five videos (totaling about two hours). The videos give a comprehensive look at the sort of technology being developed to improve the effectiveness of hemodialysis. Specifically, they look at nanotechnology, surveying where the field is and where it's is going, with particular emphasis on hemodialysis. CIMIT's mission is to improve patient care by bringing scientists, engineers, and clinicians together to catalyze development of innovative technology, emphasizing minimally invasive diagnosis and therapy.

  • Joseph Bonventre, MD, PhD, gives the background explanation of dialysis and outlines the clinical need for improved hemodialysis
    view video
  • Theodore I. Steinman, MD, presents on Human Nephron Filters and a Continuous Functioning Artificial Nephron
    view video
  • Greg Erman, MBA, goes over the business challenges of bringing a continuous mode of dialysis to market and addresses the issue of blood access by pointing out that implanting the device solves the issues around needles and catheters
    view video
  • Jeffrey Borenstein, PhD, discusses where the technology is and what is left to do
    view video
  • Q&A session with some good questions and a bit of industry gossip
    view video

Here are some patient-submitted videos:

  • Angie demonstrates the use of Emla cream for dialysis
    view video

We've also pulled together some dialysis-related videos from YouTube. Check them out!

↑ Top of page