More than two dozen patients at the Foothills Medical Centre’s dialysis unit are receiving treatment while they sleep as part of an overnight hemodialysis program.

The 26 patients in the program, situated in Unit 27 at the hospital, have experienced kidney failure and receive nocturnal hemodialysis three times a week to clean their blood of built up toxins and excess fluid. The eight hour, overnight treatments, are much gentler on the body than the traditional, four hour daytime dialysis sessions which, according to Dr. Jennifer MacRae, medical director of hemodialysis and home hemodialysis in the Southern Alberta Renal Program, are known to cause significant discomfort in patients.

“They tend to not tolerate it very well and have very low energy states,” said Dr. MacRae. “The mortality rate for a kidney patient at five years is approaching 50 per cent.”

30-year-old Caitlin Tighe says the program has resulted in a significant increase in her energy level.

“Now I can go for a swim or do hot yoga in the morning right after dialysis,” said Tighe. “Before, when I was doing four hours (of dialysis) during the day, I’d be so wiped out afterwards that I’d have to go home and sleep for another four hours. And then, not long after that, it would be time for bed.”

Studies have shown the long term impact of dialysis has not resulted in improved outlooks for patients and researchers continue to look for new ways to deliver better dialysis, including slowing the process during overnight treatment.

Dr. MacRae says providing dialysis to a patient over eight hours, three times a week, appears to result in an increase in a patient’s tolerance of dialysis, a reduction in the severity of a patient’s symptoms, and an increase in quality of life.  

“We hope we’ll be able to improve the patient’s long term cardiovascular outcomes as well.”

The program began in October of 2013 and officials hope to expand it to areas outside of Calgary.

Overnight home hemodialysis has been available in Alberta for many years but many patients do not have sufficient space to accommodate renovations to their homes or are unable to undergo training to operate a dialysis machine.

According to Alberta Health Services, more than1,000 patients in the southern Alberta region (south of Red Deer) receive hemodialysis either in a clinical environment or in their homes.