In-center hemodialysis is performed at a dialysis facility. Hemodialysis treatments are scheduled three times a week. The length of the treatment is prescribed by a physician and generally lasts 4 hours. To start treatment, specially trained nurses and dialysis technicians insert two needles, connected to dialysis tubing, into a person’s access (usually in the arm) to circulate the blood out of the body, through the tubing, into the dialysis machine to remove the excess fluid and waste, and then back into the person’s body. Nurses and technicians are always there watching and monitoring the treatment.

Peritoneal dialysis, or PD, is a daily treatment. PD is a procedure that removes wastes, chemicals and extra fluid from your body. This type of dialysis uses the peritoneal membrane, the thin, natural lining of your abdomen, to filter your blood. The peritoneal membrane acts as the artificial kidney. Although it is there to protect your organs, it has many tiny holes, or pores, in it that can be used to filter waste products and other chemicals from your blood. To prepare for PD, a surgeon places a permanent tube called a catheter into the lower abdomen to carry solution in and out of the abdomen. The sugar in the solution, called dextrose, draws wastes, chemicals and extra fluid from your blood through the peritoneal membrane and into the dialysate solution that is in your abdomen. After several hours, the used solution is drained from your abdomen through the catheter and into an empty bag. Your abdomen is then refilled with fresh dialysate and the cycle is repeated. Each cycle of draining used dialysate and refilling with fresh dialysate is called an exchange. There are two common types of PD: Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) and Continuous Cycling Peritoneal Dialysis (CCPD).