What is dialysis and why is it needed?

Dialysis is a treatment that removes wastes and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys are not able to do that on their own. A good place to start learning about dialysis is in our Dialysis - The Basics section. This section can provide you with information about the dialysis process, how to choose a dialysis center, how people feel and how their lifestyle changes on dialysis. You may also want to check out the Treatment Options area of the site, which explains more about hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis (PD) and kidney transplant.