International Travel for Organ Transplantation: Provider and Patient Perspectives

Organ allocation in the United States to non-US citizen, non-US residents who travel for transplant (NC/NRTx) is controversial. Current policies may not be informed by stakeholder opinions, as limited data exist assessing the knowledge or opinions of providers or patients on this issue.

A cross-sectional, hospital-based pilot survey was distributed to providers and patients from December 2019 to June 2020 at a single large urban transplant institute. Providers were members of the departments of surgery and medicine and included both transplant and nontransplant providers. Surveys included 10 questions on eligibility, prioritization, and limitations for deceased donor transplantation and 12 demographic questions.

A total of 209 providers responded (61% women, median age 40) and 119 patients responded (62% women, median age 54). Awareness of eligibility for transplantation of US citizens, non-US citizens residing in the United States (NC/R), and NC/NRTx was high in both groups, though providers and patients lacked awareness of the eligibility of nonlegal NC/R (those who live in the United States who are not citizens and are not legal residents) to donate and receive organs. Overall, 79.3% of patients stated that NC/NRTx should be eligible for transplant in the United States compared with only 60.7% of providers (P = 0.001). Providers were more likely than patients to prioritize transplant to legal NC/NR over NC/NRTx (58.2% versus 35.1%, P < 000.1) and reported that families should be able to limit donations to NC/NRTx (34.9% versus 23.2%, P = 0.03).

Surveyed patients and providers generally support transplant in non-US citizens; however, the strength of support varied considerably based on the legal status of the patient and the occupation of those surveyed. Larger studies are necessary to develop data-informed policy.