A legal technicality prevented a local dialysis program from buying several blood-purifying machines and the apartment floor that they are located on, a state deputy chief of programs said yesterday.

"Because the dialysis program is not for the general public, the state cannot legally allocate it funds," Helen Wise said.

The state government was never approached to buy the machines and the floor outright, Wise said. Day-to-day operating expenses were not eligible for funding, she added.

For University students with kidney and renal disfunctions, the dialysis program centered in an apartment building on South Pugh Street greatly eased the stress of going to college.

The program provides living quarters, educational programming and a diet program. But now the unit can't afford to operate the machines that kept the students alive.

Convenience was the primary advantage since everything was under one roof, said Steve Katona, the program's student representative.

The shutdown inconvenienced Davut Aslanyolacan (freshman-theater arts) differently than the other students dependent on the machines. Aslanyolacan is blind.

Instead of simply going downstairs from his room to the dialysis machines, Aslanyolacan now must travel to the HUB where he gets a ride in a medical van to the hospital.

"It adds hours to my dialysis each week," Aslanyolacan said, adding bitterly that he would much rather go downstairs and use the machines "that are doing nothing but collecting dust."

Aslanyolacan said he is unsure if he will attend the University in the future or if he will return home.

"I felt strong here because of the unit." Aslanyolacan said proudly. "Now that it's gone . . ."

Dr. Jonathan Dranov of Internal Medical Associates, the group that operates the program, said it simply was not possible to keep the dialysis machines operating.

The two-year old program was to be backed by a $225,000 grant through the 1987-88 Pennsylvania budget. The grant was never released. The unit has operated the machines in a deficit since then.

The money was needed to purchase the dialysis equipment on loan from the government.

Leil Fortney, a supervisor at the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, owners of the dialysis machines, said yesterday that according to procedure the machines will be reclaimed and reissued to other clients.

"We need a private donor to take us on," Katona said, adding that the program is still hoping for aid from the government.

Jordan Finkelstein, professor of biological behavior health, said some government funds may later surface.

Steve Garban, senior vice president of financial operations, said the University tried to find grants and looked at ways to take over the unit, but the results were impractical.

"The unit would have had to have been run through Hershey Medical Center," Garban said. He added that the program could not achieve a steady enrollment due to the uncertainty of funding.

Bill Mahon, director of public information, said although the University is very supportive of the program, there is no way that it can bear financial responsibility. He said there are many other philanthropic organizations that need aid and it would not be appropriate to single one out for funding.

Besides the shutdown of the machines, the program was forced to stop recruiting students. This fall, at least three students who enrolled had to be turned away because of limited space on Centre Community Hospital's dialysis machines.

Finkelstein stressed the different situations of the dialysis machines and the program itself.

"The support services we offer that are above and beyond normal dialysis programs will still operate," Finkelstein said.

The dialysis program allowed students to get a better education than they would normally get, Katona said.

Now the students must go to the hospital for the time-consuming, life-saving process. The time slots for dialysis sometimes conflicts with classes, Katona said.

"I got lucky." Katona said. "I got the slot I needed for (dialysis)."

Besides the convenience, the unit provided a calmer atmosphere during dialysis. When he was undergoing the process, Katona said, the quiet of the unit helped him study. Students often donned headphones to watch television or listen to the radio, he said. At the hospital, the musak and usually several televisions are on at once, he added.

Katona said he misses the sense of security and camaraderie of the unit when he goes to the hospital.

"I feel alone at the hospital," Katona said.