There are roughly 5,000 people in Puerto Rico in need of regular dialysis treatment for kidney disease, but many operational dialysis centers only have enough diesel fuel to power their generators another day or two. FEMA has evacuated some patients in need of dialysis, and performed similar evacuations in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
“We have had people who need dialysis who have been without it for nine days,” U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md, said at a Thursday press conference, according to The Hill. “They are at risk and some have already died. This is a humanitarian crisis and demands the speediest, most robust reaction and action that we can take.”
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