Kidney exchange transplantation current status, an update and future perspectives

Table 5 Advantages of global kidney exchange[50-53]

2-7 million people die World-wide from kidney failure due to poverty. Helping some of these poor patients would be good. GKE helps only those patients who have exhausted all the solutions in their home country and increases transplant opportunity for poor patients from low/middle income countries who are otherwise exposed to death[61-62]

GKE wants to support poor patients from low/middle income country legally, ethically, fairly and transparently following the rules established by the National Competent Authorities of each country

GKE does not induce donation but removes the financial barrier to donation for a willing donor recipient pairs where donor’s motivation is altruistic and unpaid

Everybody wins in GKE: Low/middle income country’s donor and recipient, low/middle income country’s pre-and post-transplantation health care system, high income country’s recipient, health care payers and high income country’s Government and taxpayers

GKE can send high income country patient to high quality low/middle income country transplant centers, instead of reverse. This would be less expensive and build local infrastructure in low/middle income country and access to kidney transplantation to more low/middle income country patients

There can be oversight by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Transplantation Society with strong International governance that is consistent with the highest ethical and legal standards

GKE: Global kidney exchange.