Social activist Claudia Rosas Reyes has accused the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) of failing dialysis patients at Clinic 38 in San José del Cabo, saying patients have died because of a critical shortage of working hemodialysis machines.
The facility officially operates seven machines to serve more than 94 patients who need roughly 247 dialysis sessions per week. Frequent equipment breakdowns reduce the number of functioning units to five or six at any given time, creating dangerous backlogs for people whose lives depend on regular treatment.
Replacement Equipment Still Missing
Rosas Reyes said replacement machines were formally requested before December 2025 but have not arrived. She has directed appeals to the IMSS delegate for Baja California Sur, Governor Víctor Castro Cosío, and President Claudia Sheinbaum, calling for urgent intervention.
Hemodialysis patients typically require three sessions per week, each lasting several hours. Missed or delayed treatments can cause fluid overload, dangerous potassium levels, and cardiac complications. With only five to six machines running, the math at Clinic 38 does not work: the facility would need to run sessions nearly around the clock to meet the 247 weekly procedures required.
New Hospital Planned, but Years Away
IMSS has announced plans for a new regional hospital in Los Cabos with 260 beds and 46 medical specialties, including a dedicated hemodialysis room. Governor Castro described it in May 2026 as the most significant infrastructure project currently planned for the state. But that facility is still in the planning stage, offering no relief for patients who need dialysis now.
A separate IMSS Bienestar hospital with 42 beds was proposed for San José del Cabo in late 2025 after local ejidatarios offered to donate 13 hectares for the site. That project also remains in early development.
Private Options Exist at a Cost
Los Cabos does have private facilities that offer dialysis services. Blue Net Hospitals in Cabo San Lucas operates a dialysis clinic on the Transpeninsular Highway. Hospiten Los Cabos (formerly Amerimed) also lists dialysis among its services. Private dialysis sessions in Mexico generally cost between $150 and $300 per session, a fraction of U.S. prices but a significant expense for patients who need three treatments every week.
IMSS covers dialysis for enrolled members, including those on voluntary enrollment, which many foreign residents in Los Cabos use. Patients affected by the equipment shortage at Clinic 38 face the choice of waiting for a machine to become available or paying out of pocket at a private clinic.
The situation was first reported by Colectivo Pericú.