What is the difference between haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis?

Both are forms of treatment for kidney failure so the blood is left unfiltered as this is one of the main functions of the kidneys. In haemodialysis all of the blood is filtered and it is done externally through a dialysis machine. The semi permeable membrane here are man made thin viscous tubes with a huge surface area to allow for rapid exchange of waste. This allows the patient to only require three days of dialysis treatmet a week. But due to the short amount of time spent in the dialysis clinic; these patients must watch what they eat and control the intake of fluid they recieve.

The peritoneal membrane is located in the abdomen with a rich supply of blood flowing to it, it acts as the semi permeable barrier for the exchange of waste products to occur within. This makes it perfect for the use of internal dialysis treatment. What happens is that a fluid called dialysate is inserted in the peritoneal and by diffusion and active transport, the waste products are filtered from the blood. Once the session is over the fluid is drained from the cavity and must be repeated up to 6 times a day because not all the blood is filtered in each go. This type of dialysis cane be done at home and is relatively simple whereas haemodialysis requires a large machiene which is normally only found in hospitals.