UCL in the News: Portable kidney dialysis promises normal life

Eight volunteers in the first human trial at the UCL medical school in London said they would recommend the contraption. …

At the moment, survival "remains poor", the paper says - roughly similar to that of people with a cancerous tumour - because dialysis as carried out on the static machines increases the risk of heart problems. …

Dr Andrew Davenport [UCL Medicine] who led the trial said that there were "some hiccups", but nothing that might not have occurred with a standard dialysis machine. The next stage was to get the weight down from the present 5 kilos to 2 kilos (11lb to 4.4lb), which would enable patients potentially to go to work. "We have got a device we hope we are going to trial in the spring or summer." …

"The technology hasn't been there to make things small," he said. "The key to success is the micro pumps. These are now so small compared to the standard pumps you find on a haemodialysis machine." …