The Daily Mail reports on a unique case - a kidney patient has arranged for himself a dialysis procedure at home and independently undergoes it.
Hu Songwen, that’s the name of the patient, himself constructed a dialysis apparatus, vital for him, using old medical supplies and some from improvised material.
Kidney disease was discovered in a man in 1993. While there was enough money, he underwent dialysis in the hospital. But the money is over. In addition, the hospital is far from reaching and constantly have to wait in line. As a result, man has been using his own invention for 13 years. Home treatment is much cheaper than similar therapy in clinical settings - only 60 yuan, which is 12% of the cost in the clinic.
The device, acting as an external kidney, consists of two parts, which are connected by a membrane filter. Blood runs through one part of the device, and dialysis fluid through the second.
To get the liquid, you need to mix potassium chloride, sodium chloride and bicarbonate in purified water. Two tubes depart from the apparatus, which the patient inserts into his hand. Blood is pumped out through one tube, and through another it flows back.
Using the dialysis procedure, the concentration of acid in body fluids is reduced, as well as the content of potassium and sodium in the blood. But since the water that the patient uses is non-sterile, doctors believe that such self-medication can turn into serious complications, up to a fatal infection. So, homemade devices did not save two friends of the inventor.
