Manitoba is marking the launch of Kidney Health Month with the opening of a new hemodialysis unit at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Winnipeg, further bolstering renal care for patients who require regular critical life-saving dialysis services.

“The new hemodialysis unit will allow HSC Winnipeg to accommodate a growing number of individuals receiving treatment for the first time, as well as patients from across the province who have been hospitalized, are receiving specialist care or need ongoing dialysis treatments,” said Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson. “It further strengthens the size and scope of renal services offered at our provincial hospital, allowing us to meet the current and future needs of dialysis patients in Manitoba.”

Located within the Diagnostic Centre of Excellence at HSC Winnipeg, the new $6.8-million hemodialysis unit will have 22 stations with capacity for up to 132 patients to receive 396 hemodialysis treatments a week. Hemodialysis is a life-sustaining treatment that cleans a patient’s blood. Adult dialysis patients currently being treated in temporary dialysis stations will be the first to occupy the unit.

There are 1,845 people with kidney failure receiving life-saving dialysis treatment in Manitoba including 420 patients on home dialysis. An additional 6,475 Manitobans are being treated for chronic kidney disease.

“While we are always working to detect and manage kidney disease as early as possible – with the hopes of delaying or preventing dialysis – we know the need for hemodialysis in Manitoba continues to grow,” said Dr. Mauro Verrelli, provincial renal specialty lead, Shared Health. “This bright, state-of-the-art unit will be a significant asset in caring for Manitobans living with kidney failure.”

The new unit at HSC Winnipeg builds on several previous investments made to improve renal services in the province including:

  • $5.2-million investment to provide dialysis treatment for up to 72 patients, as well as hire 30 additional staff, in Winnipeg, Thompson, Swan River, Hodgson, Pine Falls, Portage la Prairie and at the Boundary Trails Health Centre (Morden/Winkler); and
  • $300,000 to add 12 hemodialysis treatment spots and hire two additional staff at Dauphin Regional Health Centre.

“The demand for services for patients living with chronic kidney disease and kidney failure is increasing across Canada including here in Manitoba,” said Stefanson. “The opening of this new unit reflects our government’s ongoing commitment to meet that demand and provide the care these patients regularly need, both in Winnipeg and in communities across the province.”

March is Kidney Health Month in Canada. For many people, early detection and treatment of kidney disease can prevent or delay kidney failure or the need for dialysis.

For more information on kidney health and the Manitoba Renal program, visit kidneyhealth.ca.