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  • OUTLOOK

Stop denying kidney transplants to non-citizens

Policies that prevent undocumented immigrants in the United States from receiving a donated organ are not only cruel and unfair, but also fail the cost-effectiveness test.
  1. C. Elena Cervantes

    1. C. Elena Cervantes is a nephrologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

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Millions of people worldwide have chronic kidney disease. Depending on the cause and on comorbid conditions, if left untreated it can progress to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). In the United States, care for ESKD is provided through Medicare — a federally run programme that provides health care mainly for older people. Most people with ESKD receive dialysis three times a week, indefinitely unless they get a transplant. Non-citizens — including undocumented immigrants — are usually excluded from policies that provide standard care for ESKD.

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Nature 615, S5 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00649-2

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Chronic kidney disease, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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