More Frequent In-Center Hemodialysis in Pediatric End Stage Renal Disease

A health kidney works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to remove toxins and fluid from the body. Many children with permanent kidney failure undergo dialysis, a life saving procedure that takes the place of a kidney. Currently, many children with permanent kidney failure only receive dialysis treatments 3 days a week in the hospital dialysis clinic. Children on dialysis have a markedly reduced life expectancy, with a life span 40-50 years shorter than their healthy counterparts. Survival for these children has not improved over the last 20 years. These data indicate that the current dialysis treatment strategy is unacceptable. This research project will study if more frequent dialysis, performed 5 days per week, will improve the health of children with permanent kidney failure compared to the current treatment strategy. Children will be treated with both traditional and more frequent dialysis schedules to measure improvements in their health and well being.