Reuse Dialyzer System

A dialyzer is often referred to as an “artificial kidney.” Its function is to remove the excess wastes and fluid from the blood, when the patient’s kidneys can no longer perform that task.

Dialyzers are made of a thin, fibrous material. The fibers form a semipermeable membrane, which allows smaller particles and liquids to pass through. The dialyzer is encased in a sealed plastic cylinder about a foot long and approximately two to three inches in diameter with openings at the top and bottom. During treatment dialysate (dialysis solution) and your blood flow through the dialyzer (but they never touch). Fresh dialysate from the machine enters your dialyzer through one opening and blood enters through the other. Wastes are filtered out of your blood into the dialysate. Dialysate containing waste products leaves the dialyzer and is washed down the drain, while the cleaned blood goes back into your body.



A dialyzer is often referred to as an “artificial kidney.” Its function is to remove the excess wastes and fluid from the blood, when the patient’s kidneys can no longer perform that task.

Dialyzers are made of a thin, fibrous material. The fibers form a semipermeable membrane, which allows smaller particles and liquids to pass through. The dialyzer is encased in a sealed plastic cylinder about a foot long and approximately two to three inches in diameter with openings at the top and bottom. During treatment dialysate (dialysis solution) and your blood flow through the dialyzer (but they never touch). Fresh dialysate from the machine enters your dialyzer through one opening and blood enters through the other. Wastes are filtered out of your blood into the dialysate. Dialysate containing waste products leaves the dialyzer and is washed down the drain, while the cleaned blood goes back into your body.
Dialyzers can remain functional after more than one use, which is why many facilities reuse them. Dialyzers are reused for a certain number of times or until it no longer works efficiently, whichever comes first. Each doctor sets his or her own policy for the maximum number of reuses. Some dialysis facilities do not reuse dialyzers, and patients at those facilities are given new dialyzers for each hemodialysis session.

Patients are given the choice of whether or not to reuse their dialyzers. Facilities that reuse must follow strict guidelines to ensure the reused dialyzers are labeled with the patient’s name, cleaned properly, sterilized and working so the patient can have an optimal dialysis treatment.

How is reuse performed?

Patients only reuse their own dialyzer, meaning that no other patient has or will ever use it. Dialyzers are never shared between patients. After your dialysis session is complete, a facility member (either your renal nurse or a patient care technician) will take you off the dialysis machine and seal your dialyzer, which is labeled with your name, in a plastic bag. The dialyzer is then sent to a reuse technician who will follow strict procedures to make sure your dialyzer is clean, sterile and in good working condition before you use it again.

The reuse technician will first do a visual inspection of the dialyzer for blood or fiber clots. The technician will also note the number of times the dialyzer has been used. If the dialyzer is due to be replaced, the technician will replace it with a new one in the size prescribed by the physician. If the dialyzer can be reused, the technician will place it into the reuse machine to start the cleaning process.

The reuse machine cleans the dialyzer using water treated with reverse osmosis. This water is highly purified and cleans the dialyzer without leaving traces of particles and chemicals. After cleaning, the machine performs a pressure test and blood volume test. The pressure test checks for any holes in the dialyzer. The blood volume test ensures that the dialyzer’s capacity is above 80% of the dialyzer’s stated size. If there are any holes in the dialyzer, or if the blood volume is less than 80% of the dialyzer’s size, it is replaced with a new one. If any problems are detected during the reuse test, the reuse machine indicators let the reuse technician know, and the dialyzer is disposed of in the proper manner.

After the reuse machine has cleaned and tested the dialyzer, it will then be filled with disinfectant and stored for at least 11 hours. Just before the patient’s next dialysis treatment, the dialyzer is rinsed with saline solution until all disinfectant is removed. A test is performed to make sure no disinfectant is left in the dialyzer. Once it is tested, the dialyzer is ready to use for the dialysis treatment.


Is reuse safe?

Various studies have examined the issue of reuse. These studies have found that the mortality rate between patients who reuse dialyzers and patients who do not was the same.
Dialysis facilities that reuse dialyzers must follow strict guidelines set forth by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). The AAMI guidelines make provisions for patient safety, among them:

• A dialyzer must be clearly labeled with the patient’s name and only used for the same patient.
• A dialyzer must be tested after each use to make sure it is working properly.
• A dialyzer must be tested after rinsing for any traces of disinfectant that may remain.
• Patients must be monitored for any reactions due to reuse.

Does reuse affect dialysis outcomes?

Different factors can affect your Kt/V and URR (urea reduction ratio), standard measures of how effective your dialysis treatments are. Although reuse may affect Kt/V and URR levels, following the correct standards of reuse for monitoring fiber volumes and testing the reuse dialyzers makes this a rare issue. If you are on reuse and are concerned about your Kt/V or URR levels, talk to your renal nurse and your kidney doctor.

What are the advantages of reuse?

Reuse can be helpful to the patient and to the planet.
Patient advantages of reuse Since each dialyzer is inspected by a reuse technician, the technician can note any blood clots in the dialyzer and alert a renal nurse. Blood clots could mean you are not getting enough heparin, which is a medicine given before and throughout hemodialysis. Heparin thins the blood to allow it to pass easily through the dialyzer and prevent it from clotting, which would reduce the dialyzer’s ability to remove wastes and fluid. Blood clots in the dialyzer may make your dialysis session less effective and can lower your Kt/V.

Environmental advantages of reuse

Dialyzer reuse helps to reduce negative environmental consequences in several ways. On average, it only takes 9.6 reuse dialyzers to treat one patient for one year, versus an average of 153 single-use dialyzers. The reuse of all dialyzers in a single year would eliminate the production of up to 46 million dialyzers and reduce the amount of medical waste ending up in landfills by more than 62 million pounds.

Dialyzer reuse also reduces the amount of harmful toxins created by waste processing. In order to be properly disposed of, dialyzers first have to go through a decontamination process requiring they either be incinerated or microwaved before being sent to landfills. When dialyzers are incinerated, the process produces emissions and ash that have negative health effects on the surrounding communities. While the microwave process does not produce harmful toxins, it does nothing to reduce the amount of medical waste that ends up in landfills.

By choosing dialyzer reuse, you can dramatically reduce the negative impact on the environment. Dialyzer reuse reduces your carbon footprint, helps relieve America of its dependence on crude oil, sends less non-biodegradable waste to landfills and ultimately benefits the dialysis patient by keeping costs lower without compromising clinical outcomes.

Interesting about this product?

Call : PT. Tirta Teknosys, with Hospital Division : (021) 9897 1156 or 0813 1526 2722
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