††††The kidney dialysis machine was introduced in the 1940s by Dutchman Wilhelm Kolff. It has saved the lives of countless people suffering from kidney disorders.
The machine performs the same job as a healthy kidney: it cleans blood by separating toxic substances from the red and white blood cells, but it does this outside of the body rather than inside. Dialysis is expensive and debilitating for the patient.
Nowadays, kidney transplants are given to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure wherever possible.
