Transplant tourism is the term used for patients who travel outside of the country to get organ transplants. The greatest point of controversy to this transplant tourism is where these organs are coming from. Although it is illegal to sell organs, there are still some parts of the world where these activities are still prevalent. This is especially the case with kidneys since these can be harvested from a living person and they are in the highest demand on the transplant list. A recent study was conducted to examine the differences in the results between local and abroad transplants. 165 transplant patients from Saudi Arabia were observed after receiving their transplants. The results of the study showed that almost all the tourist patients received kidneys from living donors whereas only 68% of local patients received a living donor kidney. One of the biggest concerns that arose for the tourist group was their significantly higher rate of rejection, 27.9%, compared to the local group, 9.9%. In addition to the higher rates of rejection, tourist patients also saw higher rates of post-operation infections than local patients. Despite the fact that this study was from a relatively small sample of patients for both groups, the increased numbers of rejection and infection post-operation for these tourist patients cannot be ignored. This presents the medical field with an ethical question of whether or not they should accept and legalize the sale of these organs to regulate the process. To act by nonmaleficence and beneficence, the government and the healthcare industry should legalize the sale of these organs to regulate where these organs are going and how they are being transplanted. To limit the number of patients with post-operation infections and rejection, there must be a regulation of the sales and procedures with these organs. By regulating who can buy these organs, we can ensure that the most in-need patients of these transplants have access to safe local procedures instead of having to endure a major medical procedure abroad with illegally purchased organs. The study was able to show the dangers of transplant tourism and shed light on an underground issue that needs more attention. Legalization and regulation of these organ sales need to occur to limit the number of people negatively affected by seeking out an illegal organ transplant as well as benefit those who are desperately in need of these transplants.
Alghamdi, S. A., Nabi, Z. G., Alkhafaji, D. M., Askandrani, S. A., Abdelsalam, M. S., Shukri, M. M., Eldali, A. M., Adra, C. N., Alkurbi, L. A., & Albaqumi, M. N. (2010). Transplant Tourism Outcome: A Single Center Experience. Transplantation Journal, 90(2), 184–188. https://doi.org/10.1097/tp.0b013e3181e11763
Bailey, I really liked your joke and enjoyed reading your post. It seems as if organ transplants are still not the safest and most ideal procedures. I was thinking about how we can improve the safety of organ transplants and possibly increase their availability. It seems like one possibility is xenotransplantation, which includes harvesting animal organs. Although this would increase the availability of organs, I'm not sure whether it would be a safer and more effective alternative to traditional transplants. Another alternative is using technology as a replacement for diseased organs, however, the literature is not convincing as to the reliability of this hardware. In my opinion, the most promising innovation in organ transplants is related to stem cells and personalized medicine. Stem cells have the ability to turn into any type of cells, including those that make up organs. Theoretically, we should be able to grow an organ in a lab setting, possibly from the individual's own stem cells. I think this method is really cool because it has the possibility of increasing the availability of organs, and we may even be able to use the recipients cells, which could decrease risk of rejection.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.myast.org/public-policy/key-position-statements/future-directions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1475508/