Home Hemodialysis: Get Your Freedom Back

Finding a treatment that fits your lifestyle is essential to maintaining your quality of life. Performing hemodialysis at home helps many people do just that. Home hemodialysis (HHD) gives you the freedom to do treatments outside of the dialysis center and:

• Perform dialysis in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
• Choose flexible treatment times around your work and family schedule.
• Have a care partner assist you with treatments.

People on HHD have the option to dialyze more frequently with short treatments generally performed on different days five to six times a week, for two to three hours per session. Because of the treatment frequency, people on HHD tend to experience improved health benefits, such as reduced fatigue and nausea, and better regulation of blood pressure and toxin build-up.

Will I be trained to do hemodialysis at home?

In order to perform HHD, you’ll need to be trained by a home dialysis training nurse. Training typically takes four to eight weeks to complete. You’ll learn how to operate the equipment, handle supplies, insert needles, record medical information and disconnect from the machine.

A required care partner—your spouse, child, sibling, friend or neighbor—will be trained as well so that he or she can assist you during your HHD treatments. With the help of your home training nurse, both you and your care partner can build confidence by the time you begin dialyzing from home.

What if I still need help after HHD training?

Although you will perform hemodialysis at home, you are never alone. You will be in contact with your kidney care team, and go in to the dialysis center once a month or so to review your lab results and nutrition report.

Johnnie, a DaVita HHD patient, describes his visits as though he is meeting with fellow employees.

“I have a great team at DaVita. On the days when I visit the center, I sit at the conference table with all these people around me—my doctor, my nurse, my nutritionist, my social worker—and I’m like the CEO. It’s amazing!”

If you do need help, DaVita® has 24/7 on-call nurses who can assist you.

Is home hemodialysis available in my area?

If you’re wondering how HHD can help you get your freedom back and improve your quality of life, find a DaVita HHD program near you by calling DaVita Guest Services at 1-800-244-0582 or request more information now.

Related kidney disease and dialysis articles on DaVita.com

• Watch: Home Hemodialysis Videos
• Hemodialysis: A Dialysis Treatment Option
• In-Center Hemodialysis: Dialysis Care during the Day
• In-Center Nocturnal Dialysis: Get Your Treatment and Your Zzz’s

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