What is dialysis? Explain its principles

A kidney can filter 100-150 quarts of blood every day. If the kidneys are not functioning properly, waste starts accumulating in the blood. This results in coma and even death.

To cure this, the patient is subjected to dialysis. Dialysis maintains the body balance in the following ways:

• It controls the blood pressure.
• It removes excess water and metabolic wastes from the body.
• Prevents chemicals such as potassium, bicarbonate and sodium from reaching hazardous levels.

Dialysis is used for people with a critical kidney disorder (grave kidney damage, previously severe renal failure). It is required when the kidney loses 90% of its efficiency and has a glomerular filtration rate of less than 15. This treatment may continue for months or years since most kidney failures are irreversible.