How Often Does a Person Have to Do Hemodialysis?

Hemodialysis is the process where a person with renal failure is connected to a hemodialysis machine, through a catheter, to filter their blood of toxins, and return it to their bodies cleansed.

The hemodialysis process most often takes place in a dialysis center with other hemodialysis patients. The hemodialysis procedures for each patient are scheduled for certain times every week.

Because the kidneys of a person with renal failure not longer provide the function of filtering the blood of wastes, hemodialysis must be done frequently in order to prevent a buildup of toxins in the persons system.

If hemodialysis is not done often enough, the person will become ill and may experience nausea and vomiting, or more serious complications. Without the hemodialysis the toxins that accumulate in the blood can poison a person.

Individuals with renal failure usually are taking medications in addition to receiving hemodialysis treatment. A build up of those medications in the blood stream along with the substances and minerals we receive from food and drinks are harmful if not filtered from the blood stream regularly.

How often does a person have to do hemodialysis?

Since the repercussions of renal failure are very serious, hemodialysis is usually scheduled three times a week to ensure that the individual does not go long without having the wastes removed from their system.

To provide an example of how often a person has to do hemodialysis, I'll explain in brief, my mother's experience with hemodialysis.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning my mother woke up at 4:00am in order to get ready and be at her hemodialysis appointments at 5:00am. Once the dialysis technicians connected her to the hemodialysis machine, the procedure lasted for four hours. She was finished and home by 10:00am.

Patients will differ, however, and may have to do the dialysis treatment more often or less often. Not all patients will be scheduled to receive hemodialysis treatments as early as my mother did. Dialysis centers are usually open until 5 or 6pm; so many patients are scheduled later in the day.

Hemodialysis treatments are not usually done on consecutive days. Having the dialysis treatment every other day provides a consistent and steady process of filtering the blood and regulating the substances and minerals in the blood.

The frequency of dialysis treatments can also vary based on what other illnesses or conditions a person has and age can also be a factor. But in general a person will do hemodialysis three days a week for two to four hours at a time.