Health

Overnight Dialysis Offers Benefits to People with Chronic Kidney Disease

Published

11 years ago

January 20, 2015

By Gregory Mignano

When Derek Mattox learned in 2003 that his kidneys were failing and he’d need dialysis to stay alive he knew his life was about to change big-time.

<p>

What the Oakland resident, who was 39 at the time, couldn’t foresee was that 12 years later he’d be healthy, happy and using an increasingly popular dialysis treatment option to live a life as close to normal as he could imagine: nocturnal dialysis.

More than 26 million Americans – approximately eight percent of the population – suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease and many will one day face kidney failure and need to chart a course through dialysis treatment.

Diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease can put people at an increased risk for kidney disease, and African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders and American Indians also face increased risk. African-Americans like Mattox, for instance, comprise more than 32 percent of all Americans receiving dialysis, despite representing just 13% of the total population.

Mattox, now 51, took treatment seriously from the very start. “It was like a new job and a new life for me, so I researched it, found out what was going on,” he says. “I knew my disease would take my life if I didn’t follow the directions.”

The traditional and predominantly prescribed course of treatment for kidney failure, known in medical terms as End Stage Renal Disease, requires that patients go to a center several mornings or afternoons per week for four hours at a time.

There, a blood-filtering machine removes waste and excess fluid from their blood – a task their kidneys can no longer do. Juggling a job, family and other responsibilities and activities with dialysis during daylight hours is no easy feat.

While Mattox managed to go back to school and work in various special education and childhood development roles while undergoing daytime dialysis for many years, it was tough. A few years ago, he decided to try nocturnal dialysis, spending three nights each week receiving overnight treatment.

When Satellite Healthcare launched a nocturnal program at its Oakland Dialysis Center at Telegraph and 33^rd Street in 2013, Mattox was among its first patients.

The not-for-profit organization, founded more than 40 years ago, has been expanding its program in response to increased demand, now offering nocturnal dialysis in many of its centers across California.

Patients opting for nocturnal dialysis swap three nights of at-home sleep each week for overnight treatment. Mattox lives just 25 minutes on foot from the Oakland center and he usually walks as part of his regular exercise regime, carrying a sandwich, two blankets, a small pillow and a pair of headphones in his tote bag.

Arriving in the early evening, he is greeted by the friendly staff, settles into a specialized treatment chair, begins dialyzing, and watches cable TV and movies on his personal television until he falls asleep. Six to eight hours after arriving, he packs up his things and walks back home, refreshed.

Nocturnal dialysis is not always an easy sell – perhaps explaining why the number of patients taking advantage of it, while growing, remains low.

A common response from patients when hearing about the treatment is, “What? I need to give up a few nights of sleep in my own bed? Why on earth would I do that?”

But patients who try it out tend to see positive benefits very quickly, because receiving slower, steadier dialysis over a longer period of time puts less stress on their hearts and on their bodies in general. Also, up to 30 percent more toxins are removed from patients’ blood during nocturnal dialysis than during the faster daytime treatments.

“One of the things patients tell us is that with shorter daytime dialysis, they have a longer recovery time afterward,” says Sheila Doss-McQuitt Director of Clinical Programs and Research at Satellite Healthcare. “Patients receiving the longer, overnight treatment report their recovery time is greatly shortened. They can often just get up and go, to do whatever they want immediately following treatment.”

“I tell other patients all the time: nocturnal gives me the ability to have a life. I really feel the difference in my body than when I was on daytime dialysis,” attests Mattox. “When I first began it was an adjustment with the sleep, but I was able to rest a bit when I got home in the morning and then go to work feeling rejuvenated, with extra energy. No one I’ve worked for has even known I’m on dialysis – they can’t tell, and I don’t tell them.”

Published studies, and the Oakland patients’ own lab results, illustrate nocturnal’s benefits. Receiving slower, steadier dialysis over a longer period of time puts less stress on the heart.

An additional 30 percent more toxins are removed from patients’ blood than during the faster daytime treatments.

As a result, many patients with heart disease and hypertension – very common ailments – can decrease or even eliminate some medications. And, like Mattox, they tend to find they have more energy.

Mattox plans to begin looking for a new job soon, but for now he’s enjoying a hiatus from work. He can frequently be found walking his dog around Lake Merritt, checking out movies, reading, and simply, as he puts it, “getting out” as much as he can during the day.

He believes one of the most important things dialysis patients can do for themselves is to maintain a sense of empowerment. “Don’t let dialysis take control of you – you take control of it. Learn as much about dialysis as you can so you can have the best treatment possible.

For me, that’s nocturnal. Also, don’t depend on the dialysis machine to take care of your body – you’ve got to take care of it by eating the right foods and doing the right things. The machine is just an additional tool.”

In his role as Area Manager at Satellite Healthcare, Gregory Mignano oversees the Satellite Healthcare’s Oakland dialysis center. For more information visit SatelliteHealth.com.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:chronic kidney disease Health overnight dialysis

Up Next

All-Day Habits for a Better Night’s Sleep

Don't Miss

Sagging Pants of Today Could Hurry Hip Replacements of Tomorrow

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

COMMENTARY: The Biases We Don’t See — Preventing AI-Driven Inequality in Health Care

For decades, medicine promoted false assumptions about Black bodies. Black patients were told they had lower lung capacity, and medical devices adjusted their results accordingly. That practice was not broadly reversed until 2021. Up until 2022, a common medical formula used to measure how well a person’s kidneys were working automatically gave Black patients a higher score simply because they were Black. On paper, this made their kidneys appear healthier than they truly were. As a result, kidney disease was sometimes detected later in Black patients, delaying critical treatment and referrals.

Published

7 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, M.D (D-San Diego). File photo.

By Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, M.D., Special to California Black Media Partners

Technology is sold to us as neutral, objective, and free of human flaws. We are told that computers remove emotion, bias, and error from decision-making. But for many Black families, lived experience tells a different story. When technology is trained on biased systems, it reflects those same biases and silently carries them forward.

We have seen this happen across multiple industries. Facial recognition software has misidentified Black faces at far higher rates than White faces, leading to wrongful police encounters and arrests. Automated hiring systems have filtered out applicants with traditionally Black names because past hiring data reflected discriminatory patterns. Financial algorithms have denied loans or offered worse terms to Black borrowers based on zip codes and historical inequities, rather than individual creditworthiness. These systems did not become biased on their own. They were trained on biased data.

Healthcare is not immune.

These biases were not limited to software or medical devices. Dangerous myths persisted that Black people feel less pain, contributing to undertreatment and delayed care. These beliefs were embedded in modern training and practice, not distant history. Those assumptions shaped the data that now feeds medical technology. When biased clinical practices form the basis of algorithms, the risk is not hypothetical. The bias can be learned, automated, and scaled.

For us in the Black community, this creates understandable fear and mistrust. Many families already carry generational memories of medical discrimination, from higher maternal mortality to lower life expectancy to being dismissed or unheard in clinical settings. Adding AI biases could make our community even more apprehensive about the healthcare system.

As a physician, I know how much trust patients place in the healthcare system during their most vulnerable moments. As a Black woman, I understand how bias can shape experiences in ways that are often invisible to those who do not live them. As a mother of two Black children, I think constantly about the systems that will shape their health and well-being. As a legislator, I believe it is our responsibility to confront emerging risks before they become widespread harm.

That is why I am the author of Senate Bill (SB) 503. This bill aims to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare by requiring developers and users of AI systems to identify, mitigate, and monitor biased impacts in their outputs to reduce racial and other disparities in clinical decision-making and patient care.

Currently under consideration in the State Assembly, SB 503 was not written to slow innovation. In fact, I encourage it. But it is our duty must ensure that every tool we in the healthcare field helps patients rather than harms them.

The health of our families depends on it.

About the Author

Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D–San Diego) is a physician and public health advocate representing California’s 39th Senate District.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

As California Hits Aging Milestone, State Releases Its Fifth Master Plan for Aging

“California’s Master Plan for Aging started a powerful movement that is shaping the future of aging in our state for generations to come,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement, calling the initiative a “future-forward” model delivering real results for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families.

Published

1 week ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

On Jan. 27, California released its Fifth Master Plan for Aging Annual Report,titled “Focusing on What Matters Most,” outlining the state’s progress and priorities as its population rapidly grows older.

The report, issued by the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), provides updates on the Master Plan for Aging’s “Five Bold Goals”: housing, health, inclusion and equity, caregiving, and affordability.

The report comes as Californians aged 60 and older now outnumber those under 18 for the first time, a demographic shift expected to accelerate over the next decade.

Launched in 2021, the Master Plan for Aging takes a “whole-of- government” and “whole-of-society” approach, coordinating state agencies, local governments, community organizations, and private partners. The annual report highlights significant milestones, including more than 100 California communities joining AARP’s Age-Friendly Network and $4 million in state funding awarded to local organizations to develop aging and disability action plans in 30 communities statewide.

The report also underscores California’s leadership at the national level, noting that dozens of states have followed its example and that federal legislation inspired by the plan was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate in December 2025.

CalHHS Secretary Kim Johnson emphasized the plan’s focus on equity and resilience amid ongoing challenges.

“The Master Plan for Aging continues to provide a vision, a focus, and a platform for collaboration,” Johnson said. “Equity is at the center of all that we do.”

Looking ahead, the report notes that by 2030, one in four Californians will be age 60 or older, positioning the Master Plan for Aging as a central framework for meeting the state’s long-term social, economic, and health needs.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Community

Candidates Vying for Governor’s Seat Debate at Ruth Williams–Bayview Opera House in San Francisco

The gubernatorial debate participants included Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor; Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor; Betty Yee, former California state controller; Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and attorney general of California; Steve Hilton, political commentator and political adviser; Tom Steyer, entrepreneur, and Tony Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction.

Published

1 week ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

The gubernatorial debate was hosted by KTVU’s Greg Lee, KTTV’s Marla Tellez and KTVU’s Andre Senior. The candidates are (l.-r.): Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Betty Yee.

By Carla Thomas

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, seven candidates took the stage at the historic Ruth Williams–Bayview Opera House in San Francisco for the gubernatorial debate, hosted by the Black Action Alliance (BAA) in partnership with KTVU and sister station KTTV Fox 11 in Los Angeles.

For many voters, it marked a first opportunity to hear directly from several candidates seeking to lead the nation’s most populous state.

Crucial topics and issues addressed throughout the debate included housing, crime, immigration, climate change, health care and homelessness.

The debate was moderated by KTVU political reporter Greg Lee alongside KTVU’s Andre Senior and KTTV Fox 11’s Marla Tellez.

Candidates also addressed inflation and the rising costs across the state, impacting everything from groceries to childcare and health care.

Thurmond vowed to generate 2.3 million units of housing by placing 12 units on each parcel of available land in the 58 counties of California. Steyer agreed that billionaires should pay their fair share of taxes.

Hilton wanted to cut taxes, help working-class families, and end the Democrats “climate crusade and insane regulations.”

Yee offered a more transparent governmental approach with accountability, given the state’s debt.

Gonzalez said, “This debate was a great way to see who has great ideas and who has substance.”

“It’s important to have the debate within a community that requires the most,” said business leader Linda Fadekye.

Attendees included State Controller Malia Cohen, representatives of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the National Coalition of 100 Black Men, the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce, and Black Women Organized for Political Action, among others.

Event host, the Black Action Alliance (BAA) was established to amplify the voices of the Bay Area’s Black community, whose perspectives have too often been overlooked in politics and public policy.

Loren Taylor, CEO of BAA, said it was important to bring the event to the Bayview in San Francisco and shared his organization’s mission.

“The Black Action Alliance (BAA) stands for practical, community-driven solutions that strengthen public safety, address homelessness, support small businesses, expand affordable housing, and ensure access to quality education—issues at the heart of the Black experience in the Bay Area,” said Taylor.

California’s primary election will take place on June 2 and the general election will take place on Nov. 3.