Please find the link to a press release on an international kidney paired exchange that has allowed the successful transplantation of two patients, one in Italy and one in Spain, by exchanging and shifting the kidneys of their intended live donors.
To our knowledge this is the first international kidney paired exchange procedure carried out in South Europe, and the third performed in the world. A basic aspect of the reported case is that it has taken place in the context of a structured programme, that has been agreed upon and counts on the oversight of the three national health authorities involved: Centro Nazionale Trapianti (CNT- Italy), Instituto Português do Sangue e Transplantação (IPST - Portugal), and Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (ONT - Spain).
We believe this is an important step forward in increasing the effectiveness of existing kidney paired exchange programmes in Europe and a good example of the power of international cooperation in the field of transplantation.
Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, Ana Franca and Alessandro Nanni Costa