1. Access of non-residents to transplantation of deceased donor organs: practices and strategies in the European setting
- Author
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Igor Codrenau, Luc Colenbie, Dale Gardiner, Martina Brix-Zuleger, Marina Álvarez, Carmel Abela, Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, Francis L. Delmonico, Bernadette Haase, Massimo Cardillo, Paola Di Ciaccio, Mihály Sándor, Dessislava Tsoneva, Stefan G. Tullius, Vita Gembutiene, Mirela Bus ̌ić, Olive McGowan, Magdalena Kratka, Christelle Cantrelle, Milos Adamec, Emanuele Cozzi, Lia Bellis, Franziska Beyeler, Danica Avsec, Mar Carmona, Ana M. Pires Silva, Samuel Arrabal, Petra Novotná, Artur Kaminski, Marta López-Fraga, Georgia Menoudakou, İlker Ünsal, Jacob Lavee, John Forsythe, Axel Rahmel, Heikki Mäkisalo, Tamar Ashkenazi, Camille Legeai, Yves Pérel, Peter Branger, Bo-Göran Ericzon, Agim Thaqi, Alicia Pérez-Blanco, Louise Birrell, and Michael Nicolaos
- Subjects
Transplantation ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Deceased donor ,Tissue and Organ Procurement ,Waiting Lists ,business.industry ,Member states ,Vulnerability ,Organ Transplantation ,Kidney Transplantation ,Organ transplantation ,Tissue Donors ,Europe ,Waiting list ,Family medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,National level ,business - Abstract
The access of non-resident patients to the deceased donor waiting list (DDWL) poses different challenges. The European Committee on Organ Transplantation of the Council of Europe (CD-P-TO) has studied this phenomenon in the European setting. A questionnaire was circulated among the Council of Europe member states to inquire about the criteria applied for non-residents to access their DDWL. Information was compiled from 28 countries. Less than 1% of recipients of deceased donor organs were non-residents. Two countries never allow non-residents to access the DDWL, four allow access without restrictions and 22 only under specific conditions. Of those, most give access to non-resident patients already in their jurisdictions who are in a situation of vulnerability (urgent life-threatening conditions). In addition, patients may be given access: (i) after assessment by a specific committee (four countries); (ii) within the framework of official cooperation agreements (15 countries); and (iii) after patients have officially lived in the country for a minimum length of time (eight countries). The ethical and legal implications of these policies are discussed. Countries should collect accurate information about residency status of waitlisted patients. Transparent criteria for the access of non-residents to DDWL should be clearly defined at national level.
- Published
- 2021