Logistical and Ethical Challenges in the Provision of Kidney Care to Immigrants

The burden of chronic kidney disease in the United States is substantial regardless of one's immigration status. However, members of minority groups, including immigrants, are disproportionately impacted and confront numerous barriers to accessing appropriate care. This article examines the barriers that hinder individuals' ability to access and impede providers' efforts to deliver care. The article concludes with an examination of the ethical issues confronting providers in carting for immigrant patients as the result of the incongruity between ethical principles underlying care and the structural inequities that impede its delivery. Recommendations are offered to relieve providers' resulting moral distress and to advocate for increased access to kidney care for both documented and undocumented immigrants.