Work

When Transplant Tourism Returns to the United States: Clinical and Ethical Challenges

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Transplant tourism, according to the World Health Organization1, describes a process wherein patients cross national borders to obtain organ transplants outside of their country of residence. Transplant tourism encompasses a spectrum of practices, ranging from ethically regulated cross-border transplantation to organ commercialization with unclear donor protections. Factors influencing transplant tourism are multifactorial: they include limited availability of transplant resources (organs, transplant centers/care providers) as well as the complex hurdles such as evaluation and wait list time associated with transplant in resource-rich settings such as the US.

Source: Kidney Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.xkme.2026.101493

Authors: Veena Ganesan, Jacob M. Appel, Dinushika Mohottige, Susan Lerner, Samira S. Farouk

Institution: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Language: English

Topic: Organ Donation and Transplantation

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,590