Lange tired and weak but wit is intact

Former Prime Minister David Lange is "tired and weak" but his condition is stable and his sense of humour intact as he continues treatment at Middlemore Hospital for end-stage kidney failure.

Mr Lange, 62, is having peritoneal dialysis every night as he sleeps, a treatment he started last Christmas, says his wife, Margaret Pope.

Peritoneal dialysis involves placing a plastic tube into the abdomen and running special fluids in and out to remove waste products that build up dangerously in the bloodstream as the kidneys fail.

Ms Pope says that despite his fatigue, Mr Lange's sense of humour is "very much still there".

He was admitted to hospital 11 days ago for treatment for circulation problems in his legs arising from his diabetes. The condition is also the most common cause of renal failure. But Ms Pope says the rare and incurable plasma disorder amyloidosis, which struck Mr Lange in 2002, has generally "undermined" his health.