Unrelated renal transplantation: an ethical enigma

Abstract

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a condition better discussed than suffered. People suffering from ESRD are at a disadvantage not only financially, but also emotionally and in terms of the quality of their lives. The majority of their productive time is spent in hospital, on dialysis machines, or in the search for a suitable kidney donor, so that they may be able to improve upon the quality of their remaining lifespan. Only a "lucky few" are able to find a suitable matching donor, be it living (related) or a cadaver, whilst the others are left to fend for themselves. As the supply fails to cope with the demand, people go to the extent of exploring the pool of "unrelated donors". Though not legalised yet, this is one domain yet to be explored in its entirety, both on humanitarian as well as ethical grounds. Our current work hopes to highlight this scenario and also provides a few options that may well become "ethically acceptable" in the not-so-far future.

Trade in kidneys is ethically intolerable

“…2). Aggarwal and Adhikary draw attention to this complex issue in the context of India, presenting an ambivalent position on the incentive debate (3). In this commentary, I clarify some of the points they raise and contend that a permissive approach to kidney trafficking is ethically unjustifiable.…”

Relationship between cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte antigen 4 ‐318C/T (rs5742909) gene polymorphism and the risk of acute rejection in renal transplantation

“…Renal transplantation is regarded as the best therapeutic option for ESRD at present . Only a “lucky few” are able to find a suitable matching donor, be it living (related) or a cadaver, while the others are left to fend for themselves . Evaluation of the risk of transplantation is particularly important for transplantation of pediatric patients.…”