For many patients, dialysis is not just a treatment—it becomes a defining part of life. Hours spent connected to a machine, ...

Most people with advanced kidney disease undergo hemodialysis as a treatment. It can help to know how to prepare for sessions, what side effects to expect, and what your other treatment options are.

Dialysis is typically performed in a hospital or clinical dialysis center, where a patient’s blood is drawn through an access point, filtered through a dialysis machine, and then returned to the body.