Dialysis At Sea Opens Travel Doors To Kidney Patients

People in kidney failure sometimes feel as if their lives are literally tethered to a kidney dialysis machine -- because, they are. A typical dialysis treatment program requires that they have their blood laundered of impurities three times a week for about four hours each session. While many have lived with this dialysis regimen for years -- and have seemingly come to peace with their new normal -- there is one area that has remained elusive: Travel. In order to travel, patients must arrange to get dialysis wherever in the world they are. It's not a simple feat, and as a result, many with kidney failure who are receiving dialysis treatments just don't travel. "It's a shame," said Steve Debroux, owner of Dialysis At Sea, a company that arranges for cruise ship passengers to be able to get their dialysis while on board. It is the largest such company in the world; Dialysis-Cruise, a German cruise company, has a smaller program that operates in Northern Europe.  Debroux's business formed in 1977 and has since made it possible for thousands of dialysis patients and their families to scratch the travel itch. Count Wilson and Carol Lanclos of Illinois  among them. According to Carol, her now 69-year-old retired military-officer husband began renal dialysis in January of 2012. Until his need for dialysis, they had been world travelers. But the logistics of travel when he began getting dialysis three times a week felt mind-boggling, she said. "But it's ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news