How much does dialysis cost in the UK?

A lot. About £20,000 per person per year. Dialysis is a high-cost treatment, with the NHS spending over £600 million per year (£20,000 x 30,000 patients) on dialysis in the UK (over 0.25% of the NHS budget on a rare disease). With the growth in CKD and dialysis demand, this figure is likely to rise significantly over the next few decades.

These figures do not include the cost of 30,000 kidney transplant patients (£2000 per year after the first year, i.e. £60 million per year).

So, is dialysis is free in the UK? No. It is part of the cost of the NHS that you pay for in your taxes. But how much does dialysis cost in the UK, in terms of the annual cost per patient for per year?

Costs of peritoneal dialysis

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD): £16,400
Automated peritoneal dialysis (APD): £20,300.

Costs of haemodialysis

Satellite unit haemodialysis: £20,000 (managed and staffed by private sector)
Home haemodialysis (HHD): £23,400
Hospital haemodialysis: £23,700 (£32,700 with hospital transport).

Cost of dialysis versus a kidney transplant

When the transplant is stable it costs about £2000 per person per year vs about £20,000 for dialysis – i.e. about 10% of of the cost. The quality of life with a transplant is a lot better as well. So, if you are suitable, try very hard to have one.

Conclusion

Home-based treatment – including PD and home haemodialysis – is cheaper, and for many patients, provides a more independent lifestyle. So it is surprising that the UK tends to consider hospital-based haemodialysis (with transport to and from dialysis provided) as the ‘default’ treatment.

Summary

We have described how much does dialysis cost in the UK. We hope it has been helpful.

This information is based on a recent paper which looked at the costs of dialysis in Wales (Roberts, 2022).

Last Reviewed on 3 March 2024