Set Sail with Home Hemodialysis

By Cassandra Miller, BSN, RN and Carrie Lundy (from LifeLines At Home newsletter)

Are vacation destinations calling your name? You can get there from here—whether it’s across the state, across the country or even farther away!

Because you perform your own treatments at home, you can perform them on the road, too. But what if you want to venture beyond the borders of the United States?

It can be a bit tricky to travel overseas and keep your home dialysis routine. In fact, DaVita does not support international travel for Home Hemodialysis patients at this time due to vendor restrictions. But a cruise that sails from an American port could be the perfect solution for your desire to visit exotic places and maintain your home treatments. Here are a couple of tips for happy cruising:

Choose an itinerary that embarks from an American port

As a general rule, east coast ports can sail to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Transatlantic destinations; west coast ports can take you to Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and South America. A Hawaii-departing cruise can go to Tahiti or Australia!

Tell your nurse and care team that you are thinking about a cruise

They will work together to arrange shipment of your supplies to your departing port.

If you have further questions about how a cruise works when you’re on a dialysis, call DaVita Guest Services at 1-800-244-0680.