Medical Research- Kidney Dialysis

Question 1

How does it work?

Answer 1

Haemodialysis- three days a week for four hours at a time in hospital- filtering blood through a machine and then back in again
Peritoneal dialysis- a catheter in the stomach- four times a day at thirty minutes a time
Side effects include stomach cramps and itchy skin

Question 2

Ethical issues

Answer 2

Each haemodialysis costs £182, £30,800 per year per patient
3% of NHS budget dedicated to renal failure
Some of it is self inflicted if a side effect of type 2 diabetes
Cannot be a cure, some people still die waiting for a donor
Can be painful and time consuming
But
Gives hope for recovery
Keeps them alive and gives relatively good quality of life in general

Question 3

Case study

Answer 3

Sonia suffered chronic renal failure when her kidney function fell to 4% just before she applied for university
She has haemodialysis to keep her alive but it is indefinite

Question 4

What is it used for?

Answer 4

People with kidney failure or chronic kidney disease. It it is an artificial version of the kidneys and removes waste from the blood. It can be used when people have kidney problems as a side effect of diabetes.