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Can you list and explain the advantages and disadvantages of Dialysis and a Kidney Transplant?

I have searched the internet a bit and looked in some books but I have found little. Only obvious things like if you don't have a dialysis you will die. And that you have to use the dialysis machine about 3 times a week in the hospital for a few hours at a time. Thanks a Lot Akbar Edit: it is hemo-dialysis i was talking about

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1. hopes site helps http://www.kdf.org.sg/health_004.php http://www.kidney.org/atoz/pdf/kidney_trans.pdf http://www.utmb.edu/renaltx/process.htm http://patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=kidn_dis/6131&title=Dialysis http://www.transplant.emory.edu/kidney/patient/evaluation.cfm http://www.kidneyfoundation.com/patientInformation/pdfs/DiscoveringDialysis.pdf
2. The disadvantages and advantages of the two are sort of one and the same thing. With dialysis you have to go to hospital several times a week, and you have to be on a diet all the time (you mustn't drink much water, for example), which makes you feel exhausted. That can be solved by kidney transplant, but there is always a probability of complications and organ rejection (even though the blood groups match, sometimes a person's organism simply doesn't accept the organ). The advantage of dialysis is that there are no such complications or other problems that can occur when you have any surgery. Also, surgery is usually expensive and you have to wait for your kidney for a long time.
3. Theres always a possibility of rejection, but now they try to have the same race and blood type and everything which makes the chances less likely.
4. I'm assuming your talking about Hemo-dialysis...every few days. There's home dialysis too. The patient is hooked up for 8 hours every night. Anyway....Pros and cons Kidney transplant PRO -less limited diet -aren't tied to a machine to stay alive Kidney transplant CONS -have to find a match -expensive! -have to take anti rejection meds consistently -it might fail -it's an invasive surgery for the person donating and the person recieving. -some religions frown upon it (Jehovah's witnesses) Dialysis PRO -It keeps you alive Dialysis CON -time consuming -If you have the home dialysis, It's hard to pack up and take with you -Can't do hemo dialysis at home -have to be tied to a machine or a hospital -have to be VERY Careful with your diet... My niece is on dialysis and her mother is Jehovah's witness....
5. I have Wegener's Granulomatosis, I got sick at 12 and now i'm 17...I have had my kidney since i was 15 There are two ways of preserving a kidney. Even though their goal is to keep the kidney alive they do it in different ways. One method is called Hemo. A port is inserted in the neck, forearm, chest or thigh. I had one in my thigh and chest. It is a filter that cleans the blood. The machine used is a man made membrane called a dialyzer. A person is connected to the dialyzer by tubes attached to the port. The blood is slowly pumped from the body to the dialyzer where toxins and extra fluid are removed. The filtered blood is then pumped back into the body. Some pros of hemo dialysis is that it is done by trained professional heath care, who can watch for any problems. It also lets you be around people going through the same thing your going through. A dialysis session usually last from three to five hours and needs to be done three times a week. Some cons of my hemo dialysis was low blood pressure, Nausea, throwing up, disoriented ,and being cold almost frigid. It felt like death got hold of me, because I couldn’t get warm. Even with several heated blankets placed on me, I still froze. When cleaning the port the nurses used a saline and alcohol mixture, so when they cleaned it I would choke from the taste. The tubes were noticeable through my clothes and I couldn’t use my arm very well. Peritoneal dialysis is the one I mostly was on. It uses a membrane inside your body as a filter to clean toxins and extra fluid. A catheter is surgically placed in the belly. The process of going Pd is called a exchange. There are usually four to six exchanges each night. Peritoneal Dialysis has three steps. Step one is filling fluid into the peritoneal cavity. The second step is to dwell, while fluid is in the pd cavity the extra fluid and toxins travel across the membrane in the belly to the dialysis fluid. The third step is draining, then it is replaced with new fluid. These steps cycle back and forth from ten to twelve hours. Pros are that it can be done at home, and your are allowed to travel with the machine. Cons, yes the hardest part is being connected to a machine for so long. During the process the stomach has bad pain. When the last fill is put in, it has to stay until the next day in the stomach, this leaves a bloated feeling. The process requires a completely sterile room. Anyone that came into the room with me had to put surgical clothes on. The most painful thing was when the tube inside my stomach got stuck on my insides. When removing my pd cord, the surgery was worse then my kidney transplant. Conclusion is that I believe each person is different and it depends on a persons lifestyle and personal choice. I went with pd because I could stay home and not travel 3 hours, 3 times a week for hemo. Pros on kidney transplant: 1. You don’t have to be hooked to a machine. 2. You get your life back to normal. Cons: 1. Medicine cost…my anti rejection pills cost without Medicare cost over 2,000 dollars and you don’t get much. I’m on Rapamune and Prograf. 2. You have to take medicine everyday at the same time EVERYDAY….10 min can damage your kidney. 3. You live kidney to kidney.