New UK economic analyses show improved patient outcomes and health system savings – including nearly £200 million in projected UK NHS savings over 5 years – through increased uptake of home-based peritoneal dialysis compared to in-center hemodialysis
Findings highlight the importance of coordinated, patient-centric kidney care, including early referral, shared decision-making and expanded access to home dialysis
GLASGOW, Scotland, June 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vantive, a vital organ therapy company with a 70-year legacy of kidney care innovation, today announced results from a newly commissioned health economic study showing that use of home-based peritoneal dialysis (PD), compared with in-center hemodialysis (ICHD) as the initial dialysis modality, is linked to improved patient outcomes and lower overall health system costs. Informed by current data, the study highlights the potential for expanded access to home dialysis to support a more coordinated, patient-centric approach to kidney care while helping to relieve pressure on health systems and increase renal care capacity. The findings also point to nearly £200 million in estimated total savings over five years for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The analyses were presented at the 63rd European Renal Association (ERA) Congress, held June 3–6, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland.
"These data illustrate a broader insight with global relevance: earlier use of home dialysis can improve patient outcomes while helping to ease pressure on health systems,” said Chris Toth, CEO of Vantive. "Modern kidney care is not defined by a single point of intervention—it is a coordinated journey that supports patients and care teams through shared decision-making and advanced therapy options that evolve with patients’ needs. Dialysis should not be a destination, but part of a planned approach that connects patients with the right therapies at the right time. Despite the evidence that home dialysis can benefit patients, care teams and health systems, this therapy remains underutilized, highlighting a critical opportunity to rethink when and how patients are introduced to their therapy options.”
UK Health Economic Data Highlight Opportunity to Expand Access to Home Dialysis
To better evaluate the long-term implications of dialysis initiation decisions, Vantive partnered with leading UK nephrologists to develop a contemporary cost-effectiveness model using recently published UK and European renal registry data to compare the health benefit relative to cost of therapy initiation with at-home peritoneal dialysis versus in-center hemodialysis. The analysis was designed to reflect the current taxpayer-funded healthcare system using methodology aligned to England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the health guidance authority. In this new cost-effectiveness model, initiating therapy with PD was associated with improved health benefits as well as reduced per-patient healthcare costs driven by lower facility, staffing, and transport resource needs.
Vantive also commissioned a complementary budget impact model to evaluate the overall financial implications of increasing home-based PD to the NHS budget. The analysis compared current practice, informed by contemporary UK registry data, where approximately 12% of patients receive therapy with PD, with different scenarios in which PD initiation increases.1 For example, when modeling an increase of PD uptake to 15.5%, while considering the broader ambition of the NHS England’s “Get it Right the First Time” (GIRFT) recommendation of 20% home-based therapy including home hemodialysis, the potential NHS savings were nearly £200 million over five years. All scenarios simulating a yearly increase of PD uptake generated consistent short- to medium-term cost savings for the NHS.
Dr. Mark Lambie, Senior Lecturer in Renal Medicine at Keele University, Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at University Hospitals of North Midlands and co-author of the study, said: “One of the barriers to wider use of PD has been concerns about the cost effectiveness of this modality. This study not only demonstrates that PD is more cost-effective than ICHD, but also that it’s cost-saving to the NHS, even when assisted PD costs are included. This research will allow more patients to benefit from home dialysis.”
Dr James Fotheringham, Consultant Nephrologist and Honorary Professor of Renal Medicine at the University of Sheffield, said: "In addition to the benefits healthcare professionals see when they treat people with kidney failure using peritoneal dialysis, these studies show we can be reasonably certain we are obtaining better health outcomes while also using less resources. Resources that can be used elsewhere in the health system, both within and beyond kidney. The home therapy goals set by policymakers have been shown to be correct, and their impact quantified."
Addressing the Global Need for Coordinated Kidney Care
The findings of the UK economic analysis are particularly relevant given the global gap between home dialysis eligibility and adoption, as well as the growing burden of kidney disease on health systems. More than 850 million people globally are living with some form of kidney disease, approximately 4 million of whom receive renal replacement therapy, including dialysis.2 While 87% of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients are medically eligible to receive home-based PD,3 only approximately 11% of dialysis patients globally receive this form of therapy.4 Despite the clinical and quality of life benefits of home dialysis, approximately 16% of dialysis patients in the UK receive home-based therapies.5
Fiona Loud, Policy Director of Kidney Care UK, said: “Having a treatment choice if your kidneys fail is a vital part of kidney care, and being able to share the decision on where to and how to dialyse helps the person to feel a little more in control of their life. The variation in access to home dialysis therapies in different parts of the country is not good enough, and we encourage all healthcare professionals to work together to improve this.”
Alison Railton, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Kidney Research UK, said: “Kidney Research UK estimates that by 2033 the number of people in the UK needing dialysis treatment could rise from around 32,000 to as many as 143,000, with NHS costs increasing in parallel, from over £1bn to an eye-watering £5bn.6 Home dialysis has to form part of the solution to the strain on capacity and budgets, and to the challenge of facilitating personalized treatments to people with a range of needs to achieve better outcomes.”
“Expanding access to home dialysis for suitable patients is incredibly important, not only because it can improve quality of life and independence, but because it gives people more choice and control over how they manage their treatment,” said Pete Revell, Head of Marketing and Fundraising, National Kidney Federation. “For many patients, home therapies can mean spending more time with family, remaining in work, reducing travel to hospital and fitting treatment around everyday life rather than the other way around.”
ERA Submission numbers:
- ERA26-RES-3624 – Estimating the cost-effectiveness of peritoneal dialysis compared to hemodialysis as a starting modality in the UK
- ERA26-RES-3706 – Estimating the budget impact of peritoneal dialysis compared to hemodialysis in the UK
About Vantive
Vantive is a vital organ therapy company on a mission to extend lives and expand possibilities for patients and care teams globally. For 70 years, our team has driven meaningful innovations in kidney care. Today, Vantive's people, solutions and services deliver over 1 million touchpoints each day to patients around the world. As we build on our legacy, we are focused on elevating the dialysis experience through digital solutions and advanced services, while looking beyond kidney care and investing in transforming vital organ therapies. Our goal is to provide therapies that fit more easily into providers' practices and patients' lives. Greater flexibility and efficiency in therapy administration for care teams, and longer, fuller lives for patients— that is what Vantive aspires to deliver. For more information, visit www.vantive.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Vantive is a trademark of Vantive Health LLC or its affiliates.
Contact
Vantive
Jayson Otke
media@vantive.com
Zeno Group for Vantive
Cari Randall
Cari.Randall@zenogroup.com
1 UK Renal Registry (UKRR). 27th Annual Report – data to 31/12/2023, Bristol, UK: UKRR; 2025.
2 Jager K. J., et al. A single number for advocacy and communication—worldwide more than 850 million individuals have kidney diseases. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2023;34:1803–1805.
3 Mendelssohn DC, et al. A prospective evaluation of renal replacement therapy modality eligibility. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2009;24(2):555-561.
4 Li PK, Chow KM, Cho Y, et al. Epidemiology of peritoneal dialysis outcomes. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2022;18(12):779-797.
5 National Kidney Federation. NKF Home Dialysis Report 2025. June 2025. https://issuu.com/nationalkidneyfederationuk/docs/nkf_home_dialysis_report_2025.
6 Kidney Research UK. The Economics of Kidney Disease. 2023. https://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Economics-of-Kidney-Disease-full-report_accessible.pdf.