In 2013, a Chinese man who could no longer afford dialysis built his own dialysis machine

In 2013, Chinese man Hu Songwen attracted international attention after reports revealed that he had been using a homemade haemodialysis machine for about 13 years after the cost of hospital treatment exhausted his family's savings. Hu was diagnosed with uraemia in 1993 while studying at the Nanjing Institute of Meteorology, after doctors found that both his kidneys had failed. His family struggled to pay for regular dialysis, with treatment costs eventually becoming unaffordable. Hu then studied the principles of haemodialysis and assembled a makeshift system using medical equipment and household items. By 2013, he was reportedly performing dialysis at home three times a week. Doctors warned that his method carried serious infection and other risks and should not be copied.Hu was diagnosed with kidney failure as a university studentHu was 21 and studying at the Nanjing Institute of Meteorology when he became seriously ill in 1993. His face became swollen, he had difficulty urinating and eventually struggled to stand. Doctors diagnosed him with uraemia, a condition associated with advanced kidney failure. He began receiving regular haemodialysis, but the treatment quickly placed a ...