Access to Transplantation for Undocumented Pediatric Patients.

Clinicians in the United States today regularly face dilemmas about health disparities. Many patients and families cannot afford the medical care that doctors recommend. These problems are most stark when the medical care that is needed is lifesaving and expensive and involves scarce resources. Transplants are the best example of this. The most ethically disturbing situations occur when an undocumented immigrant child needs a transplant. We present such a case and analyze the ethical, legal, and policy issues that arise.