Will Dialysis Lead To Anemia

Will hemodialysis lead to anemia? This question is much concerned by many patients. We invite our director to introduce how hemodialysis causes anemia in detail.

The main cause of anemia in chronic kidney failure is kidneys cannot compound erythropoietin. Medication therapy can alleviate anemia and achieve a better therapeutic effect.

When hemodialysis patients take a blood sample, it can cause blood loss. Besides, when there is blood coagulation and blood return in dialyzer, incomplete dialyser and rupture of membranes can lead to a lot of blood loss. If you are undergoing hemodialysis, you may experience some blood loss, which can lead to anemia. But not all dialysis will cause anemia. On the contrary, proper dialysis can not only alleviate anemia, prevent gastrointestinal tract and skin from bleeding but also improve patients’ appetite.

The following factors affect erythropoietin:

1. malnutrition

Malnutrition can affect the synthesis of hemoglobin. Therefore, dialysis diet is very important.

2. infection

Infection can weaken the response of erythropoietin. Through treatment and control, it can get recovery.

3. chronic blood loss

Chronic blood loss can weaken the response of erythropoietin and then leading to iron deficiency.

4. deficient hemoglobin

The synthesis of hemoglobin is vitamin B12 and folic acid. If hemoglobin is deficient, it will affect the generation of erythropoietin.

How to manage anemia in kidney disease?

1. Manage anemia with iron

Iron is needed to make healthy red blood cells. Kidney disease patients often have a limited diet. This may cause a lack of iron-rich foods in the diet such as red meat, green leafy vegetables and eggs as well as infection, inflammation or blood loss through hemodialysis, menstruation or other causes. To treat anemia, iron-rich foods can be consumed. How much you can eat depends on your iron levels.

2. Improve kidney function

The root cause of anemia is decreased kidney function as we mentioned above. Thereby, the root cause for anemia should repair damaged kidneys and improve renal function. When renal function is improved, it can produce enough red blood cells. In this way, anemia can be alleviated fundamentally.

If you have any question, please feel free to consult our online doctor or leave a message below.