Dialysis Leucopenia -No Correction after Prolonged Washing of the Membrane

Abstract

Re-use of hemodialysers diminishes the extent of leucopenia observed during hemodialysis. A possible cause of this change is the prolonged washing of the membrane by an aqueous solution on both sides and by protein contained solutions on the blood side which removes some substance from the membrane which affects leucocytes directly or by activation of complement. A series of studies to test this hypothesis were performed using two hemodialysis membranes -Cuprophan (Enka AG) and Cellulate (Cordis Dow Corporation) and the results obtained demonstrate no elution of any water soluble substance from the dialyser membrane.