[Yeager]

Between patients, how are dialysis machines cleaned or disinfected?

[tickle]

That was a good question, yeager, this information is from my medical book and describes cleaning and disinfecting of a dialysis machine:

A method for cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing hemodialysis apparatus consisting in mixing a basic composition comprising the chlorite ion with an acid composition comprising lactic acid in a ratio of the acid composition to the basic composition ranging from 1:2 to 4:4, feeding the mixture thus obtained and admixed with water into the hemodialysis apparatus, the ratio of the mixture to water being of about 1:34 and circulating the final solution in the apparatus wherein the mixture is diluted in water and the basic composition is reacted with the acid composition.

[Yeager]

Thanks for the informative reply.
Sounds like the mixture is essentially diluted lactic acid with a little bleach thrown in for good measure,
& they trust it to remove/neutralize/disinfect any contaminants that were in the patient's bloodstream, such as HIV, hepatitis, cancer cells, etc. so that the equipment is sterile. Hmmm...

[tickle]

Thanks for the informative reply.
Sounds like the mixture is essentially diluted lactic acid with a little bleach thrown in for good measure,
& they trust it to remove/neutralize/disinfect any contaminants that were in the patient's bloodstream, such as HIV, hepatitis, cancer cells, etc., so that the equipment is sterile. Hmmm...

You appear to not think that is a good way of cleaning out contaminants, but think of it is this way, people with the infectants in their bloodstream that you mention, would never ever be on a dialysis machine, except of course, cancer, which is not a communicable disease, Yeager. HIV pos people are more or less austracised from this procedure, same for hep l or 2. Hep people have damaged livers, etc.

So basically, no, they don't trust this mixture to remove the contaminants you mention, they know it will remove any basic elements of contamination because NO ONE ELSE IS other then kidney failure patients will ever use this equipment. I don't know if they have other machinery to deal with other contaminants and I would have heard/read with there were.

Tick