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Treatment

Eating Right for Dialysis Patients

A well-balanced diet, with the right amount of protein, calories, fluid, vitamins and minerals, is necessary for dialysis patients or patients with end stage kidney disease to stay fit as their kidneys are no longer functioning at its full capacity.

Remember to:
Getting the Right Amount of Calories
  • Getting the right amount of energy (calories) is important for overall health and well-being.
  • The energy needs of every individual is different due to their age, gender, body size, physical activity level and medical conditions.
  • For PD patients: The dialysate used provides extra calories in the form of carbohydrates (dextrose). You may need to reduce your daily carbohydrate intake to prevent excessive calorie intake.
  • Do check with your dietitian or doctor about the calories contributed by the dialysate used.
Adequate in Protein
  • Protein is essential for building and repairing muscles.
  • Dialysis patients require a higher protein intake as some amount of protein are lost during the dialysis treatment (PD and HD) process.
  • Insufficient protein intake could result in weight loss, muscle wasting, reduced ability to fight infections and thus, leads to malnutrition.
  • Protein can be divided into two categories: high and low quality.
    • High-quality protein includes meat, poultry, fish and egg white.
    • Most dairy products such as yogurt, milk, cheese and soy products also contain high-quality protein.
    • The right kind and correct amount of protein is vital for dialysis patients to stay healthy.

Important! Protein food contains phosphate. Dialysis patients must take their phosphate binders with ALL their meals.

Low In Phosphorus
  • As the kidneys become less effective at filtering waste products, blood phosphate level rises.
  • When phosphate begins to build up in the blood, calcium is drawn from the bone. The calcium phosphate product forms hard deposits in patient’s tissues leading to skin itchiness, joint pain, eye irritation and hardens their blood vessels. Over time, patients’ bones become weak and brittle. This leads to fractures and constant pain.
  • Patients with prolonged high phosphate level are also at a higher risk of cardiovascular death due to the hardening of the blood vessels (vascular calcification).
  • Both HD and PD patients need to control the amount of phosphate in their diet. Phosphate binders are prescribed to dialysis patients as this medicine will help to reduce the amount of phosphate being absorbed from food into their bloodstream. 
  • Avoid high phosphate foods such as:
    • Dairy products (e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt)
    • Bone-based soups (e.g. chicken feet and pork bone)
    • Bean products (e.g. all forms of nuts, seeds, bean soup)
    • Colas
    • Cocoa and related products
    • Malt drinks (e.g. Milo, Horlicks, Ovaltine)
    • Processed food and canned food (e.g. canned meat, sausage, meat patty)
    • Organ meats (e.g. liver, intestine)
    • Canned sardines, anchovies (ikan bilis) and dried shrimp paste
Potassium
  • Potassium is a type of mineral which is important for the functioning of the nerves and muscles.
  • Potassium needs to be maintained at a safe level in the blood. When potassium levels are too low or too high, it can be dangerous as it may result in cardiac arrest. 
  • Some signs and symptoms of low potassium level include muscle cramps, difficulty breathing and irregular heartbeat, while high potassium level can cause muscle weakness, abnormal heart rates and in extreme cases, heart failure.
  • Potassium removal is more efficient in PD because patients undergo dialysis every day. In general, PD patients do not need to restrict potassium intake as strictly as HD patients.
  • High level of potassium in blood may occur in HD patients and it can be life-threatening. HD patients need to limit potassium intake in their daily diet.
  • Potassium is found mainly in fruits and vegetables, with considerable quantities found in nuts, dried beans and dairy products.
  • Other high potassium foods are:
    • Fruits and vegetables from the higher potassium group.
    • Wholegrain cereals, bread and biscuit.
    • Nuts, seeds and related products (e.g. chocolate, peanut butter).
    • Coconuts and related products (e.g. coconut milk, kaya).
    • All fresh/canned fruit and vegetable juice, herbal medicine drinks, strong tea/coffee, cocoa and malted beverage, milk, wine.
    • Brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, toffees, liquorice.
    • High potassium salt substitute, bottled sauces, meat and vegetables extract, essence of chicken, stock cube.

Tip! You can reduce the potassium content of vegetables by soaking vegetables that has been cut into smaller pieces in water for at least 2 hours.

Low in Sodium
  • Sodium is naturally found in all types of foods, and more commonly in packaged and processed foods. Salt is one of the main sources of sodium.
  • Sodium will increase thirst and will increase the tendency of drinking more fluid.
  • As a result, weight gain from fluid arises and consequently, an increase in blood pressure, and added burden to the heart.
  • Sodium restriction in kidney disease helps to maintain normal fluid balance.
  • Tips to reduce sodium intake:
    • Limit the amount of salt/sauces added during cooking.
    • Avoid using stock cubes, meat and vegetable extracts e.g. Bovril and Marmite.
    • Avoid using bottled chicken extracts.
    • Read labels on processed foods and choose products that contain less than 120mg sodium per 100g of the food product.
    • Minimise the consumption of canned and processed food. If you do choose to use them, do drain the brine.
    • Use fresh herbs and whole spices to replace salt /sauces in cooking.
    • Use fresh lime, lemon juice, or vinegar to flavour food.

Renal patients should exercise caution with salt substitutes as they are often high in potassium and should not be used without consulting your doctor or dietitian.

Control in Fluids
  • Due to reduced kidney function, dialysis patients have reduced urine output. Therefore it is important for dialysis patients to adhere to their fluid restriction.
  • Excess fluid is retained in the body and symptoms such as shortness of breath, high blood pressure and swelling of the legs can occur.
  • Both PD and HD patients will need to consider their urine output, remaining kidney function and body size to determine their fluid intake.
  • PD patients will also need to monitor the amount of fluid removed during an exchange.
  • HD patients may keep track of weight gain in between two dialysis sessions as a gauge.
  • Daily allowance for fluid intake can vary from 500ml to 1,000 ml per day, depending on the patient’s urine output.
  • The daily fluid allowance includes plain water, tea, coffee, milk, gravy, soup, and porridge. Other fluids that are liquid at room temperature such as ice-cube, ice cream, jellies are also considered as fluid.

Important! Dialysis patients should follow the fluid regime designed by your nurse, dietitian or doctor.

Prevention of Anaemia
  • Anaemia is common among dialysis patients as it is one of the complications of kidney failure.
  • Erythropoietin (EPO), which prompts the bone marrow to make red blood cells, are produced by the kidney. When the kidney’s function is decreasing, the amount of EPO produced will be reduced.
  • Other factors that cause anaemia among dialysis patients are:
    • Reduced red blood cell lifespan due to accumulated urea toxic
    • Malnutrition
    • Lack of iron
    • Lack of folate and other vitamins
    • Blood loss during haemodialysis
  • Symptoms of anaemia include fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, low immunity, breathless or shortness of breath, chest pain, reduced appetite, and pale looking.

Tip! Adequate intake of protein, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B12 and folate are important in preventing and treating anaemia as these nutrients are the important elements in making new red blood cells.

*The above information and recommendations are general guidelines, and should not be viewed as specific advice for any individual. Please consult your doctor or other health care advisors for personal health decisions.

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FAQ

General Enquiries

As there are limited car park lots available at NKF Centre visitors may need to park at the nearby HDB car parks in the vicinity.

NKF HQ Mondays –Thursdays
Fridays
PH / Weekends
8.30am –6.00pm
8.30am –5.00pm
Closed
Dialysis Centres Mondays –Saturdays
Sundays
PH
7.00am –11.00pm
Closed
7.00am –11.00pm

We are open on most public holidays except for the 1st day of Chinese New Year.

NKF does not provide ad hoc dialysis treatment. Our patients are on long-term dialysis treatment. You may wish to check with private dialysis centres for ad hoc dialysis treatments.

NKF does not have an outpatient clinic and hence, we are unable to arrange an appointment for members of the public. You may wish to contact a hospital of your choice for outpatient service.

Currently, NKF does not provide health report interpretation service. You may consult your General Practitioner who will be able to assist you.

Someone with kidney failure may not experience any signs and symptoms until it is too late. It is best to do a routine health screening to understand your health status better and detect any abnormalities as early as possible so that you can delay and manage the disease progression.

To know about the signs and symptoms please click here to learn more.

Decreased urination Swollen hands and ankles Sleep disturbances
Blood in the urine (tea-coloured or fresh blood) Puffiness around the eyes High blood pressure
Nausea and vomiting Itching Loss of appetite

All dialysis centres operate on 3 dialysis shifts –morning, noon and evening.

Morning Noon Evening
7.00am –12.00pm 12.00pm – 6.00pm 6.00pm –11.00pm
Timing of your dialysis schedule may vary for each dialysis centres.
Schedules
Monday, Wednesday and Friday (1,3,5) OR Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (2,4,6)

Admissions

Our Admissions Counsellor will contact you once your application is finalised. They will be in contact with you soon.

From the day we receive the application form, it will take approximately 3 working days to a week for us to get back to you if you have submitted all completed supporting documents together with your application form to us. Generally, the whole process will take 6 months for the approval.

The overall application review process will take approximately 6 months before the applicant can start the first dialysis treatment. However, if the applicant is able to provide all completed supporting documents and if there is a slot available at the dialysis centre with a right match to the time slot, the waiting time could be shorter.

Currently, we do not have status checking service online. NKF Admissions Counsellor will be in contact with the applicants regarding the status.

You may pick it up from the NKF main office at 81 Kim Keat Road, Singapore 328836 or call us at 6506 2187 to have the forms sent to you.

Means Test is used to determine the amount of subsidies each person needing care is eligible for. Persons from lower income households will be granted higher subsidies under the means test framework.

Means Test subsidies calculation is based in accordance to MOH guidelines.

Our NKF Admissions Counsellor in-charge will contact you in regards to your means test status.

The Medical Social Workers at your hospital will be able to advise you on the different type of subsidies based on your financial situation.

Kidney Live Donor Support Fund

For information on kidney donation in Singapore, you may wish to contact the National Organ Transplant Unit at Tel: 6321 4390 or email organ.transplant@notu.com.sg.

NKF’s Kidney Live Donor Support Fund covers annual health screenings and medical follow-ups; one-time reimbursement for loss of 2 months actual income of $8,500, whichever is lower: reimbursement of hospitalisation and surgical insurance premiums (capped at MediShield Life premiums); pre-transplant screening and evaluation costs for up to 2 potential donors per kidney recipient; and insurance coverage for Group Living. Policy based on sum insured of $200,000.

For more information and eligibility, please click here. 

Donation & Volunteering

You can make the donation through different platforms:

  1. For online donation: please visit https://nkfs.org/support-us/donation-programmes/
  2. Or you may like to issue a cheque made payable to “The National Kidney Foundation” or “NKF” and mail it to us at 81 Kim Keat Road, Singapore 328836.
  3. Alternatively, you may contact us at 1800-KIDNEYS (5436397) or email us at lifedrops@nkfs.org to send you the donation form.
  4. Road Singapore 328836.

Thank you for your generosity. The cheque should be issued to “The National Kidney Foundation” or “NKF”.

Thank you for bequeathing your CPF contributions to NKF. You can fill up the CPF nomination form which can be downloaded from the CPF website. NKF’s UEN is 200104750M.

Thank you for your generosity. You may like to visit the Ministry of Law’s website where you can find a list of lawyers based in Singapore. Please visit https://eservices.mlaw.gov.sg/lsra/search-lawyer-or-law-firm/

Our UEN/ Company Registration No. / GST Registration No. is 200104750M.

Please send us an email at lifedrops@nkfs.org or call us at 1800-KIDNEYS (5436397) and we will assist you accordingly.

You may email your new mailing address to lifedrops@nkfs.org , Please include your full name, contact number, old mailing address and UEN or NRIC/FIN (last 3 digits)

You may email us at lifedrops@nkfs.org to get the donation form. Please fill up your new GIRO/credit card number, donation amount and sign the form. Thereafter, post the GIRO form back to NKF for processing.

For credit card, you may wish to scan the form and send it to NKF via either of these options:

Email – lifedrops@nkfs.org

Fax – 6253 0417

Mail – 81 Kim Keat Road, Singapore 328836

Please email us at lifedrops@nkfs.org with your full name, UEN/NRIC/FIN and mailing address.

Please email us at lifedrops@nkfs.org to have the termination form sent to you. Please fill it up and send it back to us for processing and auditing purposes.

All outright cash donations to NKF are entitled to tax deduction because NKF is a registered charity with an IPC (Institutions of Public Character) status. We are able to issue tax deductible receipts for qualifying donations to our donors.

You are entitled to a tax deduction of 2.5 times the value of your donation in the preceding year.

You may sign up via our website at https://onlinereg.nkfs.org/vms/volunteerapplicationform.aspx.

If you do not have access to the internet, please call us at 1800-KIDNEYS (5436397) to have the application form sent to you. Please fill it up and send it back to us at 81 Kim Keat Road Singapore 328836.

Once we receive your application, our colleague from the Donor and Volunteer Management Department will contact you for a phone interview. After which, you will be invited to attend our volunteer orientation. This is to allow you to have a better understanding of the volunteering activities.

The minimum age is 13 years old. For volunteers who are below the age of 21, you will need to get parental consent. You may download the consent form here.

We strongly encourage our volunteers to commit at least a year so that we can better support our patients. Our programmes and activities are flexible, you can choose your volunteering schedule according to your interest and availability.

You may volunteer with us basing on your availability. We will send a weekly email to our volunteers indicating the up-coming volunteering opportunities. You can then match your availability to the activity schedule.

We have an array of volunteering activities to suit your interest and availability. To learn more about the volunteering activities we offer, please visit https://nkfs.org/support-us/volunteer-programmes/.

Anyone and everyone can join us as a volunteer. All applicants will be required to undergo a mandatory orientation session where you will gain insights into the Foundation’s cause, kidney disease as well as learn more about the volunteering activities we offer. Regular trainings are also conducted for all volunteers so that they can better perform their role.

Most definitely! We welcome schools, companies and community groups to volunteer with us as part of their Values In Action and Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Please get in touch with us on your interest by sending an email to volunteer@nkfs.org.

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Notice

Thank you for visiting our website.

  1. Please be informed that Friends of NKF and Donation Portal will be temporarily unavailable on Sunday,10 March 2024 from 1:00am to 5:00am and Sunday,17 March 2024 from 8:00am to 8:00pm. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
     
  2. All authorised procurement tenders or requests for proposal by NKF are exclusively posted on our official website. You may verify the information by visiting our official website or contacting us directly at contact_us@nkfs.org.