Hemodialysis Scam: Discussion with Arlene Mullin

Meet and talk with Arlene Mullin-Tinker, an advocate for hemodialysis patients. Hemodialysis is the blood cleansing method for people who have lost the function of their kidneys. It removes  waste products such as creatinine and urea and free water from the blood when the kidneys are in a state of  renal failure. Hemodialysis industry is a "cash cow" for the few people who OWN hemodialysis centers.Routine hemodialysis is conducted in a dialysis outpatient facility, either a purpose built room in a hospital or a dedicated, stand alone clinic.Fluid removal  is achieved by altering the hydrostatic pressure of the dialysate compartment, causing free water and some dissolved solutes to move across the membrane along a created pressure gradient.The dialysis solution that is  a sterilized solution of mineral ions.Concentrations of sodium and chloride are similar to those of normal plasma to prevent loss. Sodium bicarbonate is added in a higher concentration than plasma to correct blood acidity. A small amount of glucose is also commonly used.

Developing dialysis as a practical treatment for renal failurestarted with Thomas Graham in 1854. The artificial kidney was first developed by Abel, Rountree, and Turner in 1913; the first hemodialysis in a human being was by Haas, February 28, 1924) and the "artificial kidney" - hemodialysis machine was developed by Kolff in 1943 -         The larger the body size of an individual, the more dialysis he/she will need, , 3-4 hour treatments (sometimes up to 5 hours for larger patients) given 3 times a week are typical. Primary method used to gain access to the blood is an arteriovenous fistula (AV) or a synthetic graft. The patient's blood is drawn out through a tube at a rate of 200-400 mL/min. The blood is then pumped through the dialyzer, and the processed blood is pumped back into the patient's bloodstream through another tube.