Dialysis cruises let kidney patients travel

Anyone on dialysis who is struggling to find travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions could benefit from booking a holiday that takes their health issues into account.

According to the AFP, a market is emerging for dialysis cruising, which provides people who have lost kidney function with a way to explore the world that is more likely to be covered by a travel insurance provider.

Currently, Gerard Pons Voyages, a company based in Bordeaux and partnered with Costa Cruises, is one of few travel firms to offer the service, the news service reports.

It offers 15 trips a year for patients onboard a ship that is fully equipped with dialysis equipment, providing the 20,000 patients who receive the treatment in Britain every year with a means of retaining their mobility.

Josette Georgin, a patient from France, told the AFP: "The day the doctor told me I would need dialysis, I thought I wouldn't be able to travel anymore. To have dialysis, it's like being in a prison without bars."

But according to news service, such specialist holiday operators are allowing families, couples and friends to enjoy travel despite any prohibiting medical conditions.

In February, a study by in the Lancet medical journal suggesting that health issues will become more prevalent as flights get longer implied that travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions will be even more crucial.