In hemodialysis, an artificial kidney machine does some of the work a healthy kidney would normally do.

To start, you have surgery to create an access point at a blood vessel in your arm, leg, or neck. You must go to the dialysis center 3 times a week for about 4 hours at a time. The blood flows slowly out of you, through a tube to the machine, which filters it and adds or removes minerals and water, before returning to you. Common side effects are muscle

cramps, and feeling tired, weak, dizzy, or sick. Your diet and fluid intake are restricted. The biggest risks are clotting at the access site and infection. There is also a risk of depression.

Hemodialysis is about
10% as effective as having
a healthy kidney. It can't
do all that a healthy
kidney would, like
making the hormone
that causes new oxygen-
carrying red blood cells
to be created. It is not a
cure for kidney disease.