Kidney transplantation in patients travelling from the UK to India or Pakistan

Rasheed Ahmad

Royal Liverpool University Hospital Liverpool UK Email: R.Ahmad{at}rlbuh-tr.nwest.nhs.uk

Sir,

I read with great interest the letter by Higgins and co-workers [1]. I am of the opinion that patients should be discouraged from travelling abroad to purchase kidneys, not only to India and Pakistan (I & P), but for that matter anywhere in the world.

As to the difference in the number of complications occurring between patients transplanted in I & P and those transplanted in Coventry, I feel this is an unfair comparison. The dialysis patients travelling to I & P were a high-risk group (100% diabetic), whereas only 3% of the patients in the Coventry group were diabetic. Moreover, while I do accept that the risk of infection, which accounts for 50% of the major complications in the I & P group, is unacceptably high, this is to a great extent a public-health problem. These countries are probably on a ‘learning curve’ and need educating.

Conflict of interest statement. None declared.

References

  1. Higgins R, West N, Fletcher S et al. Kidney transplantation in patients travelling from the UK to India or Pakistan. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2003; 18: 851–852[Free Full Text]




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