Worldwide kidney transplantation – striking a balance
In 2014, there were about 80,000 kidney transplants from living and deceased donors globally. Deceased donation has increased, especially from donors after circulatory death. This group makes up more than 40% of deceased kidney transplantation activities in the Netherlands. It is also growing signifi cantly in Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It is in low-to-middle income countries, that there is more concern. Myanmar, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Libya and Kenya are on the other end of the scale, with no deceased donation programs and counting just a small number of transplants from living donors per million population.
There is hope through education. The ISN and The Transplantation Society (TTS) Sister Transplant Centers Program focuses on sharing transplant expertise across borders.
In March, after months of preparation and coordination, a team from the Liverpool International Transplant Initiative and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital carried out the first two kidney transplants at the An-Najah University Hospital in Nablus, on the West Bank.
Before 2013, there were no transplant services available in Palestine and the first kidney transplant operation in the region was carried out at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza thanks to the partnership with the Liverpool team.
Moreover, surgeons from the University of Michigan carried out kidney transplant operations at St-Paul’s Hospital, Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 2015. Further visits every four to six weeks will help with future procedures. In two years, local surgeons will take over.
This is definitively a sign of hope for patients waiting for kidney transplants in many regions where the procedure continues to be unavailable or costly. Collaboration and sharing knowledge is the way forward for doctors and patients alike.
