Renal dialysis patients decide to discontinue treatment for a variety of reasons & only when the physician understands the specific problem can the appropriate treatment be selected. Main reasons cited by the author are: a wish to manipulate others; conflicts about dependency; a wish to commit suicide; a rejection of the lifestyle that involves the use of a machine. Table I. lists factors that differentiate suicidally depressed patients from those who have a problem with dependency. (NBB)