The Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) Unit of the National Kidney & Transplant Institute(NKTI) is the largest in the Philippines. It is the leading facility in providing peritoneal dialysis therapy and is fully equipped to treat all kinds of patients who may need PD therapy. The PD Unit is one of the critical areas of the Institute, handling patients on various types of peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is another form of dialysis where the patient’s own peritoneal membrane (or lining of the abdominal organs and body surfaces within the abdominal cavity) acts as the artificial kidney. There is no blood removed or returned to the patient. Dialysis using the peritoneal membrane is also a means to remove toxins, poisons and excess fluid that accumulates in the body when patients’ kidneys are no longer able to function adequately.

Peritoneal dialysis can be performed when there is an acute deterioration in kidney function, such as with severe blood loss or severe dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea. It can also be used for gentle fluid removal in patients with non-primary kidney disease, such as patients with congestive heart failure or cirrhosis of the liver. In these cases, dialysis may be necessary only for a short period, giving the patient’s kidneys time to recover from the sudden and severe situation that caused it to fail temporarily.

It can also be used to permanently replace a patient’s kidney function in patients with longstanding kidney disease. These include longstanding hypertension and diabetes mellitus which are common causes of kidney failure in Filipinos. It can also be used in place of the kidneys for patients with primary kidney disease such as chronic glomerulonephritis when kidneys are no longer able to perform their function sufficiently well.

Majority of the patients are on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) since this is the more physiologic type of dialysis and provides the best clearance.

One of the programs of the unit is the CAPD Training for CAPD patients. This training programs is devised for patients diagnosed to have End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) who are about to undergo Peritoneal Dialysis. This requires admission for a period of 3 days where a series of lectures and return demonstration of the desired CAPD system is performed.