This is a temporary measure that allows you to begin treatment while a graft or fistula matures. Connection to the dialyzer are by tubes. These tubes contain needles that are inserted in the access. The blood is then pumped into the dialyzer where it is cleaned and returned to the patients' body. Dialysate is a solution that has many dissolved substances such as electrolytes and glucose.
Water acts as the solvent and the dissolved substances act as the solutes.
Electrolytes such as potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and chloride ions are in the dialysate in concentrations camparable to the levels found normally in the patient's blood. This measure prevents the loss of these essential electrolytes out of the blood and into the dialysate. Blood cells are too large to pass through the pores. However, some waste molecules pass through the membrane and are carried away by the dialysate out of the body. The cleansed blood is then pumped back into the patient through the access.