Dialysis

Maybe about once a year I get contacted by a social worker, another physician, or a medical student asking me about how they can obtain "services" for a patient -- and illegal immigrant, of course -- who has a medical problem requiring some sort of long-term therapy.

The two most common situations have been the need for hemodialysis and for solid organ transplantation. These patients are really between a rock and a hard place (o si prefieres castellano: con la espalda contra la pared).

If this theme interests you, please see this excellent article in The New York Times from earlier this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/health/policy/01grady.html?emc=eta1