Resins for Dialysis Treatment

Haemodialysis (HD)

Renal disease refers to temporary or permanent damage to the kidneys that result in loss of normal kidney function. In renal failure the kidneys undergo cellular death and are unable to filter wastes, produce urine and maintain fluid balances of the body, with creation of toxins in the body which can affect the blood, brain and heart, as well as other complications.

In renal dialysis or Haemodialysis, the patient must be connected to a machine that mechanically filters off toxins, and waste materials from the blood. Wastes and excess water will be passed out from the blood through cartridge into the dialysate through a process called diffusion before the ‘clean’ blood is returned to the bloodstream.

Haemodialysis is usually performed several times a week and lasts for four to five hours.

Liver Dialysis

The most common cause for liver infections are hepatitis, alcohol/drug damage, cirrhosis, fatty liver and cancer.

The liver has a great capacity to regenerate. When the liver fails, it would have sustained extensive damage, and unable remove toxins from the blood, causing them to accumulate in the blood and eventually the brain.
In the case of acute liver failure, patients will receive a liver dialysis treatment in the intensive care unit. Liver dialysis is a short-term detoxification treatment until the liver can resume its normal function or a transplant. In some cases, transplantation can be avoided as the liver is able to regenerate itself.

The dialysis system consists of a cleaning step of the albumin-bound toxins from the patient's blood.

Removal of Urea in Dialysate

Immobilized enzymes are also used in dialysis applications, an example of this being to remove urea from dialysate.

Urease is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea to carbon dioxide and ammonium. It is essential to remove urea from the dialysate as it is a toxic compound for the body.  For this process, immobilized urease is packed into a column. The dialysate is then passed through the same column and the regenerated dialysate is then administered back into the blood stream.

Immobilized urease is packed into a column, the dialysate is then passed through the same column.