Equally Interchangeable? How Sex and Gender Affect Transplantation
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Organ transplantation as an option to overcome end-stage diseases is common in countries with advanced healthcare systems and is increasingly provided in emerging and developing countries. A review of the literature points to sex- and gender-based inequity in the field with differences reported at each step of the transplant process, including access to a transplantation waiting list, access to transplantation once waitlisted, as well as outcome after transplantation. In this review, we summarize the data regarding sex- and gender-based disparity in adult and pediatric kidney, liver, lung, heart, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and argue that there are not only biological but also psychological and socioeconomic issues that contribute to disparity in the outcome, as well as an inequitable access to transplantation for women and girls. Because the demand for organs has always exceeded the supply, the transplant community has long recognized the need to ensure equity and efficiency of the organ allocation system. In the spirit of equity and equality, the authors call for recognition of these inequities and the development of policies that have the potential to ensure that girls and women have equitable access to transplantation.
Source: Transplantation
Authors: Anette Melk, Birgit Babitsch, Bianca Borchert-Mörlins, Frans Claas, Anne I. Dipchand, Sandra Eifert, Britta Eiz-Vesper, Jelena Epping, Christine S. Falk, Bethany Foster, Siegfried Geyer, David Gjertson, Mark Greer, Marion Haubitz, Ashley Lau, Britta Maecker-Kolhoff, Nima Memaran, Hans A. Messner, Karen Ostendorf, Undine Samuel, Bernhard M.W. Schmidt, Stefan G. Tullius, Lori West, Germaine Wong, Tanja Zimmermann, Marina Berenguer
Institutions: Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Osnabrück University, Leiden University Medical Center, University of Toronto, Hospital for Sick Children, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, University of California, Los Angeles, Klinikum Fulda, Duke University, Duke Medical Center, University Health Network, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Eurotransplant, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, University of Alberta, The University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital, Universitat de València, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe
Language: English
Topic: Sex and Gender in Healthcare
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2912919587