Undocumented Immigrants Go on Hunger Strike for Organ Transplant Access

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Protesters have resorted to a hunger strike as a way to demand access to organ transplants for undocumented immigrants.
More than a dozen people had been on a hunger strike for several days when they joined picketers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital last weekend, according a report by The Nation.
Blanca Gomez, a 23-year-old in need of a kidney transplant, undergoes dialysis three times a week. Despite her condition, she told the Sun Times that she refuses to eat until she is allowed on the transplant list, even  though she has already lost four pounds and is only drinking water and Gatorade.
“Hospitals routinely deny life-saving patient care based on immigration status and inability to pay: in a profit-driven medical system, only certain lives are deemed to be worth saving,” a written statement by the Moratorium on Deportations Campaign read.
The 14 undocumented immigrants participating in the hunger strike are from Mexico and now live in the Chicago area, and are in need of kidney or liver transplants. However, they are unable to afford them because, due to their undocumented status, they are denied healthcare, the report said. 
(Photo by MDnonamecollective via The Nation)


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