Dialysis is a treatment for patients with ESRD, also called kidney failure, which is a long-term outcome of chronic kidney disease (CKD). An umbrella term referring to multiple conditions that damage the kidneys, CKD leads to a buildup of waste in the body because of the kidney’s inability to properly filter the blood.
Healthy kidneys perform an array of functions including removing waste from the body, balancing the body’s fluids, and releasing hormones that regulate blood pressure and anemia. Patients with kidney disease go through several stages of progression with kidney function gradually worsening over time. When patients with CKD reach kidney failure, their kidneys filter on average at less than 15 percent the healthy rate.
At this stage, most patients will begin dialysis treatment.