Artificial Kidney (Hemodialysis)

Kidneys are the vital organs for survival. They filter our blood and free them from wastes. Several factors like infections, injury, drugs, alcohols or restricted blood flow to kidneys reduce its activities and lead to kidney failure. This leads to accumulation of poisonous wastes in the body which can even lead to death. When both the kidneys are completely damaged and do not function, the patient often receives hemodialysis by using an artificial kidney. An artificial kidney is a device to remove nitrogenous waste products from the blood through dialysis.

Hemodialysis is the separation of certain substances from the blood by using a selectively permeable membrane. The pores in the membrane allow some substances to pass through, however, prevent others. The patient is connected to the machine by a tube attached to an artery, often the radial artery. Blood from the artery is pumped into a tube that runs through the dialyzer. The dialyzer is filled with dialysis fluid which contains the same quantities of electrolytes and nutrients as normal blood plasma but contains no waste products. The cellophane tube (a tube bounded by thin membrane) is kept in the dialysis fluid. The pores in the cellophane tube do not allow the movement of blood cells and proteins from the blood into the dialysis fluid, but are large enough to allow smaller molecules to diffuse into the fluid. Molecules of waste products such as urea, ammonia and waste diffuse into the dialysis fluid. Diffusion of other substances like glucose, amino acid and electrolysis is prevented by the presence of these substances in the dialysis fluid in the same concentration as in the normal blood plasma. Now the blood is returned to the patient’s body through a vein usually the radial vein.

When the blood is taken out, it is cooled to zero degree celcius (0⁰C), mixed with anticoagulant and then pumped into the artificial kidney. The blood coming out from the artificial kidney is warmed to body temperature, mixed with antiheparin, and returned to vein.

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