Do any Flutherers (or their immediate family members) use a kidney dialysis machine?

I have a very good buddy in Brooklyn NY who requires kidney dialysis, three or four times/week. This is very inconvenient for him, in that he must travel several miles to the actual machine, and spend a few hours, hooked up to it, each time.

I’ve offered to donate one of my own kidneys to him, but he says that cannot be done, in his case. So, I thought about maybe getting him a home dialysis machine, so he wouldn’t have to travel at all to get his dialysis done, but I have no idea how to go about doing this, nor whether it should even be attempted.

I must confess my total ignorance on this entire subject, because I know nothing about home dialysis machines, their cost, nor even if the idea is feasible for my friend.

Yes, I have Googled this question, in a way, but the articles I have seen, don’t really appear to address all of the questions I have, regarding this subject, and I’m hoping that one of you might be able to educate me about this subject, and what I might be able to do, to make my friend’s life a little more comfortable, as well as making it last a whole lot longer.

Thank you in advance, for whatever advice you might have for me.

September 2, 2008, 5:27 AM EDT