Dialysis, for kidney failure, has two main types: Hemodialysis (HD), which uses an external machine (dialyzer) to filter blood outside the body, usually at a center, three times a week, requiring vascular access like a fistula. Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) uses the abdominal lining (peritoneum) and a catheter to filter blood inside the body, offering flexibility for home treatment, often daily, with fewer travel needs.

Plasmapheresis (or plasma exchange) is a medical procedure that removes and filters a patient's blood plasma, which contains harmful antibodies or proteins, and replaces it with a substitute fluid (like donor plasma or albumin), returning the blood cells to the body, similar to dialysis but targeting plasma. It's used to treat autoimmune diseases (like Guillain-Barré, MS, Lupus), blood disorders, and to support organ transplants by eliminating harmful substances, taking 1-3 hours per session.

A kidney transplant is a surgery to place a healthy kidney from a donor (living or deceased) into a patient with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), replacing the function of failing kidneys, which are usually left in place. It offers better quality of life than dialysis, but requires lifelong immunosuppressant drugs to prevent organ rejection and regular medical monitoring, as it's a treatment, not a cure.