Interactive comparison
Haemodialysis vs peritoneal dialysis
Two very different ways of doing the same job. Neither is universally better: the right one depends on your health, your home, and what you want your week to look like. This page lets you compare them around your own life first, then in full.
Overview
Haemodialysis cleans the blood outside the body: a machine draws blood through an access point, passes it across an artificial filter, and returns it. Peritoneal dialysis cleans the blood inside the body: sterile fluid flows into the belly through a soft catheter, the belly's own lining does the filtering, and the fluid is drained and replaced.
Both remove waste and excess fluid. Where they differ is everything around the filtering: where treatment happens, who runs it, what the week feels like, and what your body notices. Those differences, not the machinery, are what the decision usually turns on.
Choose what matters to you above, or scroll on for the full side-by-side table.
The full side-by-side
| Aspect | Haemodialysis | Peritoneal dialysis |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A machine filters the blood through an artificial kidney (dialyser). | The lining of your own belly (peritoneum) filters the blood using dialysis fluid. |
| Usual place | Dialysis centre (home possible in some systems) | Home, or anywhere clean and private |
| Usual rhythm | Around 3 sessions a week, several hours each | Daily: exchanges through the day, or overnight with a machine |
| Access to the body | Fistula or graft in the arm, or a line; needles each session | Soft belly catheter placed by a small operation; no needles |
| Training needed | Little for in-centre care | A structured training period for you or a helper |
| Who runs it | Nurses and technicians | You, with the team on call |
| Watch-outs discussed with your team | Access problems, blood pressure dips, washed-out feeling after sessions | Exit-site infection and peritonitis, catheter issues, glucose in the fluid |
Availability of each option, and of home haemodialysis, varies between health systems and centres. Your kidney team knows what is offered where you are treated.
How people actually choose
Medical factors come first: previous abdominal surgery, heart and blood vessel health, and how much kidney function remains can all rule options in or out. After that, honest teams say the deciding factors are usually practical: who is at home, how far the nearest unit is, what your work needs, and how much of the treatment you want in your own hands.
It is also not a one-time decision. People switch between modalities when life or health changes, and many will use more than one over the years. Whatever you choose first, you are not signing away the alternative.
Sources
- Dialysis: overview NHS
- Hemodialysis National Kidney Foundation
- Peritoneal dialysis National Kidney Foundation
Last reviewed: 2026-07-16
Curious about the machinery itself? Our pillar site explains the equipment behind modern haemodialysis, from the Fresenius 6008 CAREsystem to the reverse-osmosis water plants patients never see, at medtech.mu renal support.