This is the most common type of dialysis. Blood flows out from the body through a tube into a machine, where it is filtered before being returned to the body. This takes about four hours and is usually required three times a week. 

Blood can be drawn either via a plastic tube (dialysis line) or via an ‘arteriovenous fistula’ (enlarged blood vessel in the arm, created surgically).

This method uses the lining of the abdomen (the peritoneum) to filter waste from the thousands of tiny blood vessels around it. Before this treatment starts, a minor surgery is needed to insert a small tube called a catheter into the abdomen, near the belly button. Dialysis fluid is then pumped into the body through the catheter. 

As blood flows through the vessels in the peritoneum, waste products and toxins are drawn out of the blood and into this fluid. The used fluid is collected in a bag and replaced with new fluid. This can be done as an overnight treatment while you sleep (using a small, bedside machine) or by a manual exchange of fluid for up to four times during the day.

Plasma exchange is a medical treatment that involves removing the plasma from your blood and replacing it with donor plasma or a plasma substitute. 

During plasma exchange, your blood is accessed through a catheter in a vein, similar to haemodialysis. The blood is then separated into its parts using a machine called a centrifuge. The plasma is removed and replaced with a substitute solution or donor plasma. The red and white blood cells are then returned to the bloodstream.

Plasma exchange is performed less frequently than dialysis, with treatments occurring over several weeks rather than multiple times per week.