Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

DIALYSIS

Evidence-based therapy for undocumented immigrants with ESRD

Haemodialysis options for undocumented immigrants with end-stage renal disease range from standard of care thrice-weekly treatments to emergency-only haemodialysis. This latter approach is associated with poor patient outcomes and high costs. The time has come for the nephrology community to demand an end to the practice of emergency-only haemodialysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Rizzo, S., Kessler, G. & Kelly, M. Your fact-checking cheat sheet for Trump’s immigration address. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/08/your-fact-checking-cheat-sheet-trumps-immigration-address/ (2019).

  2. Patrick, K. Migration to Europe is still down sharply. So is it still a “crisis”? New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/27/world/europe/europe-migrant-crisis-change.html (2018).

  3. Rodriguez, R. A. Dialysis for undocumented immigrants in the United States. Adv. Chronic Kidney Dis. 22, 60–65 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Straube, B. M. Reform of the US healthcare system: care of undocumented individuals with ESRD. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 53, 921–924 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Cervantes, L. et al. The illness experience of undocumented immigrants with end-stage renal disease. JAMA Intern. Med. 177, 529–535 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Cervantes, L. et al. Association of emergency-only versus standard hemodialysis with mortality and health care use among undocumented immigrants with end-stage renal disease. JAMA Intern. Med. 178, 188–195 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Raghavan, R. New opportunities for funding dialysis-dependent undocumented individuals. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 12, 370–375 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Shen, J. I. et al. Association of citizenship status with kidney transplantation in Medicaid patients. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 71, 182–190 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Nguyen, O. K. et al. Association of scheduled versus emergency-only dialysis with health outcomes and costs in undocumented immigrants with end-stage renal disease. JAMA Intern. Med. 179, 175–183 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Van Biesen, W. et al. Caring for migrants and refugees with end-stage kidney disease in Europe. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 71, 701–709 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rudolph A. Rodriguez.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Board.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rodriguez, R.A. Evidence-based therapy for undocumented immigrants with ESRD. Nat Rev Nephrol 15, 322–324 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-019-0137-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-019-0137-4

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing