Kidney dialysis is a life-support treatment that uses a special machine to filter harmful wastes, salt, and excess fluid from your blood. This restores the blood to a normal, healthy balance. Dialysis replaces many of the kidney’s important functions.

There are different types of kidney dialysis, including:

Hemodialysis. Blood is filtered using a dialyzer and dialysis machine.
Peritoneal dialysis. Blood is filtered inside the body after the abdomen is filled with a special cleaning solution.