subject: The Fascinating History Of Kidney Dialysis [print this page] Kidney dialysis may be taken for granted by many people today but it is something of a modern medical marvel. The earliest (and most primitive) dialysis machine dates back to the Netherlands in 1943, though it was not successfully used until 1945. Many people in nursing homes and short term rehab centers around the country don't even know the dialysis machine was years away from being invented when they were born.
Doctor Willem Johan "Pim" Kolff the inventor of dialysis was an exceptional figure. During WWII he actively fought alongside Dutch resistance fighters. He also risked his life treating wounded resistance leaders and others. While in the resistance his day job, so to speak, was working on artificial organs. The first dialysis machine was made out of washing machines, beer cans, and sausage casings. Medical equipment was scarce during the war. At the time Kolff was also toying with plans for a heart-lung machine. After the war he worked at the Cleveland Clinic where he collaborated with American doctors to build the first ever heart-lung machine. This allowed doctors to preform procedures like open heart surgery which was impossible before because there was no way to keep someone alive long enough to operate on their heart. Kolff continues to inspire today and is heralded as the father of artificial organs. Robert Jarvik, the inventor of the artificial heart, worked with Kolff in the early 1970s. He said Kolff inspired him to undertake the artificial heart. Kolff died in 2009 at the ripe old age of 98, having contributed to work on skin grafts, artificial lungs, artificial hearts, and of course, kidney dialysis.
Kidney dialysis has saved millions of people worldwide since its inception, either by extending the lives of people with chronic kidney disease or saving those with an acute bout of kidney failure. Many people routinely go to short term rehab centers weekly for dialysis and live otherwise ordinary, healthy lives. The kidney maintains the body's delicate equilibrium of water, minerals, salts and certain enzymes. It also helps remove certain toxins. Different solutions can be infused or taken out of the blood, as necessitated by medical condition.
Not only does dialysis help maintain health at nursing homes and rehab facilities, it also helps save lives at hospitals. Acute kidney conditions such as infections, certain poisonings, and kidney injury can be altogether cured with a few hours on dialysis and some follow up medical care. Few machines save as many lives as the dialyzer.
