Celebrating 25 Years of NxStage Home Hemodialysis Products, from Fresenius Medical Care Home Products

Last year, the Fresenius Medical Care NxStage Home Products business celebrated 25 remarkable years of transforming kidney care through providing superior home hemodialysis products.  The journey to this milestone has been marked with innovation and patient empowerment, backed by an incredible team of people who truly care about making life-changing impacts for people affected by kidney-related conditions. Join me in reflecting on this amazing achievement and the bright future ahead.

Twenty-five years is a milestone that any company should be proud to reach. But for those of us who have represented NxStage home hemodialysis (HHD) products over the years, achieving this in 2023 meant much more than longevity. It's about the impact we've made and continue to make on countless lives along the way by providing life-changing kidney care solutions. For 25 years, NxStage HHD products have set the standard in the landscape of home dialysis care with cutting-edge innovations and a patient-centered approach – all in an effort to achieve our most important goal: to help patients live a better quality of life, and for longer.

Empowering Patients Lives with NxStage HHD Products

Patients have always been our “North Star” and the guiding inspiration behind every decision we make. Engrained in our ethos is a promise to patients that they come first – a promise that we have kept and strengthened over the years. We define that success not by our bottom line, but by the more than 13,000 HHD patients in the United States who have received over 30 million* HHD treatments thanks to NxStage products from Fresenius Medical Care (FME) Home Therapies. Remarkably, over 385 of those patients have been on HHD for a decade or more, which speaks to not only the reliability of NxStage products, but also to what they empower patients to do.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed countless inspiring stories of resilience and triumph where patients have used our products as a tool to take control of their kidney disease and treatment, reclaiming their independence. We’ve seen patients regain the ability to carry on doing the things that matter most and the things they love in life – like continuing established careers, traveling the world, and, most importantly, spending valuable time with their loved ones.

Take, for example, Erich Ditschman, a Patient Advocate who’s relied on NxStage HHD products to do dialysis at home for the past 17 years. At the age of 15, Erich was diagnosed with kidney disease, marking the beginning of a 20-year journey of kidney decline until he needed dialysis in 2001. Around this time, Erich was juggling pursuit of a Ph.D. and being a dad for the first time to his newly adopted son with his high school sweetheart. After multiple failed transplants and when dialysis became a reality as the best long-term solution for him, his world was turned upside down fearing that his life wouldn’t go as he planned. But with a determination to regain his independence, he recognized the benefits of HHD and that it could help him take charge of his life.

In the years following Erich's initiation of HHD with a NxStage® system, he attests that this treatment gave him the energy required to be a more engaged husband and father, the ability to start a family, and the empowerment to continue his career as a scientist and professor. Moreover, his experience using the NxStage system has significantly influenced the advocacy work he does today and his desire to help others take control of their kidney disease. Through it all, he’s thankful for the freedom his NxStage system has given him to live life on his terms, pursue his passions and advocate for a better future for kidney patients.

Fostering Patient-Centric Culture

At FME Home Therapies, our culture has been a foundation for success. We know that each member of our team shares the same patient-first values in the work we do and a passion to change lives, like Erich’s, for the better. Witnessing this commitment to patients has been overwhelming – from working alongside healthcare professionals to ensure patients get comprehensive and compassionate training for HHD care, to making sure 24/7 access to technical support is a guarantee so that care is never interrupted. Although, despite having an amazing team behind these life-changing products, we know that we wouldn’t be where we are today without a reciprocating passion put forward from those using our products. Their curiosity, willingness, and feedback has been instrumental in all that we do, which is why we consistently listen to and incorporate that feedback into our products and services – a practice that has driven us to innovate and improve together.

Continuing Our Commitment to Excellence

Looking back on the past 25 years, we recognize the transformative role we've played with fierce pride, and we look ahead knowing the trust and reliance of our patients and partners will continue to inspire us to push the boundaries of what's possible. As we strive toward our next milestone, we extend an invitation to all healthcare providers to explore what NxStage HHD products may be able to do for their patients. Together, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of those in need of superior renal care.

Not all patients may experience these benefits. *Data on file