High-Purity Water for Kidney Dialysis Machines

Globally, 10-15% of the population relies on dialysis to maintain quality of life and manage their chronic kidney disease.

In hemodialysis, a patient’s blood is brought into contact with a semi-permeable membrane and impurities are drawn from the blood, through the membrane, to the dialysate (or dialyzate) fluid on the opposite side of the membrane. In peritoneal dialysis, the lining of the patient’s abdomen serves as the membrane. In both cases, the dialysate (a mixture of pure water, salts, and electrolytes) is the driving force to draw the impurities through the membrane. 

Dialysis systems depend on the local municipal water supply; however, further purification is necessary prior to the water being able to be safely utilized in the system. There are several reasons for needing ultrapure water.

For one, the amount of water consumed by chronic kidney diseases patients is significantly higher than the amount consumed by the average person through food and drink, and the exposure to water is a direct route into the bloodstream without the benefits of passing through the gastrointestinal passage. Secondly, the kidneys play a critical filtration role in the human body, but that filtration ability is compromised in kidney failure patients, making them more sensitive to impurities in the water.

Therefore, it is essential for equipment makers to utilize a dependable reverse osmotic membrane element that is capable of consistently producing high-quality water to the precise specifications required for dialysis procedures.