Hey guys, just my two cents. Ether sent me this way as he felt I could provide some insight. The fact is that I am a nephrologist or kidney specialist. Ether is absolutely correct, hemodialysis entails going to a dialysis unit three time a week for four hours at a time (12 hours/weekly). Unfortunately, regardless of age or etiology of renal failure, the average dialysis patient has a 20% mortality a year. If the patient is diabetic, as may well happen to someone who abused GH, the yearly mortality is closer to 25%. Thus, the best option if TP is on dialysis longterm would be a renal transplant (tx).
There are two kinds; a living related (or unrelated) tx vs a cadavaric (dead body) renal tx. Usually, the living tx last longer (around 20 years or so). Unfortunately, a tx requires you to be on powerful immunosuppressive agents for life. These include steroids (not anabolics, prednisone which makes you fat), a calcineurin inhibitor (such as cyclosporine or tacrolimus) and a purine inhibitor (cellcept or imuran). Luckily, some people do fairly well if they do not reject the kidney (rare in this day and age if MHC match is good). If you follow basketball, Zo Mourning of the Miami Heat had a living related tx and he looks awesome. Thus, renal failure is not a death sentence, but it is a very difficult disease. Anybody who would abuse their body with roids, GH and needless insulin is a fool. Moreover, it is such a catabolic illness, that only the most genetically gifted would be able to put on muscle mass while on dialysis.
Oh 240, it is difficult to get a tx. If you are not a good match, rejection is likely. Moreover, if you get a sub-optimal kidney and it fails, it portends a poor prognosis for another kidney as you have now developed antibodies. Needless to say, the first kidney you get you want to keep. On average, if you don't have a suitable living donar, it takes about two years or so to get a cadavaric kidney.
