Background: In view of shortages of available organs, long wait times for possible transplantation and strict regulation, many patients opt for commercial transplantation. This study elicits the reasons and motivations for ESKD patients to elect for commercial kidney transplant(CT).

Method: A questionnaire-based evaluation was conducted during the period from July 2015 until late December 2015. It consisted of 29 multiple choice questions and was distributed to all patients who underwent CT.

Results: 150 patients were approached and 106 agreed to participate.60% were male with an average age of 41.5(SD14.8) and ranged from 18 to 83 years. As shown in [Figure 1], 82% were educated ranging from primary to college level. The major reason (71%) for these participants to obtain commercial transplants was stated as the unavailability of a live related donor. 13% stated that they objected to get a kidney donated from a family member and 9% stated they were worried to take a kidney from a family member. Finally, 3% of participants stated that they needed prompt transplant and could not wait for a long time for transplant work-up. The role of law, religion and society from patients perspectives is shown in Figure 2.

Conclusions: The most common underlying cause for seeking commercial transplantation is the unavailability of a national transplant program, particularly transplantation from deceased sources. All western ethical arguments turn out to become of vital importance in developing countries, because transplantation is the cheapest renal replacement therapy. However, it must be emphasized that commercial transplants should not be an alternative to building a national transplant initiative. National diseased program must be a priority with full financial and administrative support.

CITATION INFORMATION: Al Rahbi F., Al Salmi I. Transplantation Tourism and Recipients Perspectives and Experience Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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