Skip to content

Draft: not yet reviewed by a clinician

Use this page to prepare questions for your care team. It does not replace their advice. Your own targets and doses come from your nephrologist, diabetes team and renal dietitian.

Travel

In short

You can travel with kidney disease and type 1 diabetes, including on dialysis. The secret is planning. Book hemodialysis away from home at least 6–8 weeks ahead, through your own unit (NKF). PD supplies can be shipped to where you are going (NIDDK). Diabetes supplies are allowed through US airport security: tell the officer, and keep insulin in your hand luggage, never in checked bags (TSA; ADA). Pack double supplies, keep glucose tablets on you, and check what your insurance covers, because Original Medicare usually does not pay for care outside the US (Medicare).

Your numbers

What Number Source
Book dialysis away from home At least 6–8 weeks ahead; more for holidays and popular places NKF
Records the visiting unit usually needs Your dialysis prescription, 3–5 recent treatment records, recent labs, ECG and chest X-ray, access type and medicine list NKF
Medicines and supplies Enough for the whole trip, plus extra for delays NKF
Unopened insulin Refrigerated at about 36–46 °F (2–8 °C) FDA
Insulin out of the fridge Vials or cartridges can be kept at 59–86 °F (15–30 °C) for up to 28 days; check your insulin's leaflet FDA
Frozen insulin Never use it; keep insulin out of direct heat and sun FDA
Liquids at US airport security Medically needed liquids and gels over 3.4 oz (100 mL), such as juice or glucose gel, are allowed in reasonable amounts; declare them TSA; ADA
TSA Cares helpline (855) 787-2227; call 72 hours before you fly TSA
Medicare and dialysis on a US trip Covers 80 % of dialysis costs in the US and its territories NKF; Medicare

Dialysis away from home

Hemodialysis. Ask the staff member at your unit who arranges "transient" or "visiting" dialysis. Be flexible about dates and times: units have limited space (NKF). Home hemodialysis users can travel with their machine or book a unit at the destination (NIDDK).

Peritoneal dialysis. Ask your supplier to ship supplies to your destination so they are there when you arrive (NIDDK). If you use a cycler, ask your PD unit whether to take it with you. CMS suggests that cycler users learn and practice exchanges by hand, in case the machine or the power fails (CMS).

Insurance. Most state Medicaid programs do not pay for treatment outside your home state (NKF). Check with your plan before you book. Outside the US, Original Medicare usually does not pay, and Medicare drug plans do not cover medicines bought abroad; some Medigap policies cover emergency care abroad, and travel insurance is another option (Medicare).

Flying with diabetes supplies (US)

  • Tell the officer you have diabetes and are carrying supplies. Insulin in any form must be clearly identified, and a pump and its supplies must travel with insulin (TSA). A TSA notification card can help you explain quietly (TSA).
  • You do not need to take off a pump or CGM. Tell the officer where it is before screening. You can be screened by a body scanner, a metal detector or a pat-down, and you can ask for a pat-down (TSA).
  • Follow your device maker's advice. For example, Dexcom says you can wear its G7 sensor through the metal detector and body scanner, but then use a meter for treatment decisions until you leave the security area, because the system has not been tested with every scanner. You can also ask for hand-wanding or a pat-down instead of the body scanner, and so that no part of the system goes through the baggage X-ray (Dexcom G7 user guide). Other devices differ.
  • Insulin never goes in checked bags, where it can freeze or overheat (ADA).
  • A prescription is not required at security, but having one can speed things up if you are screened further (ADA).

On the transplant waiting list

Tell your transplant coordinator before you travel. They will help you decide whether to be put "on hold" while you are away, or how you would get back in time if a kidney were offered, and make sure they can reach you (NKF).

Time zones

  • Ask your diabetes team for a written plan for insulin timing if you will cross time zones, and for when to change the clock on your pump and CGM. This handbook never gives doses.
  • If you have a transplant, ask your transplant team how to keep your anti-rejection medicines on time while your days are longer or shorter. Missed doses can lead to rejection (After a transplant).

Packing checklist (hand luggage)

  • Insulin, pens or vials, and pump and CGM supplies, with spares
  • A spare glucose meter and strips, and blood ketone strips
  • Glucose tablets (no potassium, phosphorus or fluid) and snacks for delays (ADA 2026 §6; Treating a low)
  • Glucagon, and a travel companion who knows how to use it
  • Your medicine list, written sick-day plan and a letter from your doctor
  • Dialysis records and the visiting unit's address and phone number
  • Insurance cards and travel insurance details
  • A cool bag for insulin (keep it from freezing on ice packs) (FDA)
  • Phone numbers for your kidney, diabetes and transplant teams

After a transplant

  • Talk to your transplant team before traveling abroad. They may suggest extra precautions or medicines for where you are going (USDA–FDA).
  • Keep to food-safety rules: avoid raw or undercooked meat, eggs and seafood, and unpasteurized milk and cheese (USDA–FDA).
  • Sun protection matters even more after a transplant (After a transplant).

Examples

A family wedding in another state. Six weeks before the trip, your unit's travel coordinator books three sessions at a unit near the hotel and sends your records. Medicare pays its usual share of US dialysis, as it does at home (NKF).

Through security. You tell the officer you have diabetes, an insulin pump on your belly and a CGM on your arm, and that you carry a juice box. You ask for a pat-down, and use your meter for any treatment decision until you are through security (TSA; Dexcom).

A beach holiday on PD. Your supplier ships two weeks of PD fluid to the hotel. You keep insulin in a cool bag out of the sun and never leave it in a hot car (NIDDK; FDA).

Ask your care team

  1. Can you help me book dialysis at my destination, and send my records?
  2. Can my PD supplies be shipped there? What should I do if my cycler fails?
  3. Can you write a travel letter listing my diagnoses, medicines and devices?
  4. How should I time my insulin, and change my pump clock, across time zones?
  5. (Transplant) How do I keep my anti-rejection medicines on schedule abroad, and do I need any vaccines or extra medicines?
  6. What should I do if I get sick while I am away?

Get help now if…

Call the local emergency number (911 in the US; 112 in the EU; 999 in the UK; 000 in Australia)

Chest pain; severe breathlessness; a low the person cannot treat (give glucagon, then call); ketones 3.0 mmol/L or more, or any ketones with vomiting so you cannot keep fluids down; heavy bleeding from a fistula. Full list: Get help now.

Call your team (or a local doctor) today

Vomiting or diarrhea (start your sick-day plan); a missed dialysis session; cloudy PD fluid (keep the bag). After a transplant, a temperature over 100 °F (37.8 °C) means calling your transplant center right away (NIDDK).

Sources

Not yet reviewed by a clinician. Facts and sources last checked 2026-10-06. Prices and benefit amounts as of 2026-10-06.