Page 19 - GHES-3-2

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability

REVIEW ARTICLE
A cross-sectional comparative analysis of quality

of life and cost-effectiveness for retrospective
dialysis and kidney transplant patients

Mohammad Akil Shaikh , Yogesh Raval , Ghadir Mohemmad ,
Kushal Parekh , and Kiran Dudhat*
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, RK University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Dialysis, including hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis, is initiated when kidney
function deteriorates to a glomerular filtration rate below the normal range. In
addition, dialysis manages renal failure through diffusion and ultrafiltration but does
not completely replace kidney function. Conversely, kidney transplantation involves
replacing a diseased kidney with a healthy donor kidney, offering restored kidney
function and improved quality of life (QoL). Herein, this review compares the QoL
and cost-effectiveness of dialysis versus kidney transplantation for patients with
Academic editor:
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Transplant recipients generally report better physical
and mental well-being, higher independence, and greater overall life satisfaction
*Corresponding author:
Kiran Dudhat compared to dialysis patients. Economically, kidney transplantation, despite its high
(kiran.dudhat@rku.ac.in) initial costs, proves more cost-effective in the long run due to reduced ongoing
Citation: Shaikh, M.A., Raval, healthcare expenses. Dialysis, particularly in-center HD, incurs higher long-term
Y., Mohemmad, G., Parekh, K., & costs. The findings advocate prioritizing kidney transplantation for eligible ESRD
Dudhat, K. (2025). A cross-sectional patients while also emphasizing the need for improved support for dialysis patients.
comparative analysis of quality
of life and cost-effectiveness for
retrospective dialysis and kidney
transplant patients. Global Health Keywords: Quality of life; Cost-effectiveness; Kidney transplant; Dialysis; End-stage renal
Econ Sustain, 3(2):11-20. disease
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4639
Received: August 23, 2024
Revised: October 11, 2024 1. Introduction
Accepted: November 1, 2024
1.1. General overview
Published online: February 28,
2025 Dialysis and kidney transplants are both very crucial conditions for patients with renal failure.
They are connected with the renal failure state and significantly impact the individual’s
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article quality of life (QoL) worldwide. Dialysis can be classified as (i) hemodialysis (HD), where
distributed under the terms of the blood is filtered by an external machine, and (ii) peritoneal dialysis (PD), whereby a dialysis
Creative Commons Attribution solution is used to assist the abdominal cavity by acting as a natural filter. However, dialysis
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, cannot completely replace kidney function, instead merely assisting with diffusion and
provided the original work is ultrafiltration. In contrast, a kidney transplant is a type of medical procedure that replaces
properly cited. a diseased kidney through surgery with a healthy kidney from a deceased or living donor.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1.2. Prevalence of kidney diseases
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional The prevalence of kidney transplant patients declined during the COVID-19 pandemic
affiliations. but increased to 25,487 in 2021 after a slight decline in 2020. In 2022, the United States

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 11 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4639