A life-saving but costly dialysis regimen
Marguerita Toribio, an Illegal immigrant from Mexico, is greeted at the St. Joseph Hospital Renal Center in Orange, where she receives dialysis three times a week. California provides dialysis to illegal immigrants, but most states don’t. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Marguerita Toribio watches television during her three-hour dialysis at the St. Joseph Hospital Renal Center. Health services and other benefits available to illegal immigrants can vary by state. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Marguerita Toribio’s dialysis readings are displayed during her treatment at the St. Joseph Hospital Renal Center in Orange. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Marguerita Toribio, an illegal immigrant, is connected to a dialysis machine at the St. Joseph Hospital Renal Center in Orange. Her kidney failed when she briefly moved to North Carolina, which refused to pay for her anti-rejection drugs. She needed to go back on dialysis three days a week to clear toxins from her blood, but North Carolina didnt cover that either. The best a social worker could offer was a prepaid plane ticket back to California. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
