When COVID-19 began spreading rapidly across the United States, government officials responded with stay-at-home orders, business closures, cancellations of elective procedures, and many other unprecedented measures to slow the spread of the virus. Yet, as Americans did their part to social distance and protect their neighbors and loved ones, kidney patients, and particularly those on dialysis, faced a life-threatening conundrum.

While recognizing the importance of social distancing and staying home, hundreds of thousands of in-center hemodialysis (ICHD) patients were unable to do so. In need of multiple dialysis treatments throughout the week for hours at a time (typically 4 hours each session, three times a week for ICHD), these immunocompromised patients had to balance the need for social distance with the necessity of life-sustaining care. Home dialysis patients were able to avoid the risks associated with leaving home three times a week by virtue of performing their dialysis at home.

Click here to see the full article on the MedPage Today website.