DIALYSIS IS AVAILABLE ON SOME CRUISE SHIPS.

Byline: Arline Bleecker Orlando Sentinel 

Travel of even the simplest sort can be off-limits to people who suffer from a chronic illness. Some afflictions incapacitate people so totally that the sufferers can't travel. Other illnesses - such as kidney disease - allow mobility as long as highly specialized treatment is available.

Most of the nation's approximately 200,000 dialysis patients need access to dialysis machines, which filter waste from blood and temporarily help to regulate body chemistry. So when it comes to travel, dialysis patients usually have to take trips of very short duration or make complicated arrangements to receive dialysis treatments on the road.

For almost two decades, however, a Florida group called Dialysis At Sea has made cruising possible for those for whom dialysis is a lifeline.

The agency has removed the burden of travel by organizing cruises for groups of up to a dozen dialysis patients at a time, combining dialysis technology with the expertise of volunteer doctors and nurses.

A kidney specialist and nursing staff are aboard each cruise, and Dialysis At Sea's technicians keep the company's 28 dialysis machines in shipshape condition. The availability of a large number of machines enables the agency to schedule up to four sailings simultaneously. The group offers about 50 cruises a year.

According to Loretta Powell, founder of the 18-year-old company, demand can be so great that the waiting list includes not just hopeful cruisers but medical professionals as well, who donate services in exchange for the cruise.

Ordinarily a person on dialysis who wishes to take, say, a Caribbean vacation would either not have access to equipment in remote destinations or risk low-quality care. With Dialysis At Sea, all the necessary equipment follows the patient, and no special reservations are needed to arrange for dialysis while traveling. During a seven-day cruise, passengers can get three life-saving treatments - the number most commonly required per week.

``Cruising has opened a whole new world to them,'' Powell said. In fact, such a cruise may be the first vacation in years for people restricted by dialysis in the past, many of whom become repeat cruisers.

Dialysis At Sea grew from Powell's retail travel agency in New York when a well-traveled client was suddenly stricken with kidney failure but wanted to cruise anyway. ``So he said I should do something about it,'' Powell said. She eventually gave up her regular travel agency and now arranges only dialysis travel.

Itineraries have included the Caribbean, Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Far East and inland U.S. river cruises. The company even has offered cruises to such exotic destinations as Australia, Asia, Bali and China.

The cost of Dialysis At Sea cruises is passed along at group-rate fares, which are sometimes at discounts of up to 40 percent off brochure rates. However, dialysis treatments are extra - about $410 each (with treatments in overseas departure points slightly higher). Payment for treatments outside the United States is not covered by Medicare, although 95 percent of seniors who cruise with Dialysis At Sea have private major medical offering some reimbursement, Powell said.

Anyone interested in traveling with Dialysis At Sea or donating professional services can call [phone]; or write to 107 13th Ave., Box 218, Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. 33785 for a free brochure.

Dialysis travel is available from other organizations, as well, such as Dialysis Traveler in Madison, Conn.; [phone]. Before setting sail, contact the American Association of Kidney Patients in Tampa, [phone], for other recommended travel agents.