Need and Opportunity: Solid Organ Transplantation in Emerging Health Systems. ISN-TTS Joint Session

Session Description and Learning Objectives:
Medical technologies are being disseminated more rapidly than ever to the populations of developing countries, driven by both demand and supply-side factors, and facilitated by knowledge and skills transfer within the medical community. Solid organ transplantation is no exception. Rising incomes, the spread of personal insurance, lifestyle factors adding to the burden of illness, and aging populations mean that demand for treatment for end-stage organ failure is increasing in low and middle-income countries. At the same time, there has been a surge in the volume of available epidemiological data relating to end-stage organ failure and its risk factors. This session will place this new epidemiological data in the health system context, with the objective of conveying the challenges that low- and middle-income countries will face as demand and supply surrounding organ transplantation increase. Finally, using a recently initiated transplantation partnership between transplant centers is Europe, North America and Africa to illustrate the potential for expanding the global scope of transplantation activities, the session would be used to promote collaboration between emerging health systems and physicians and scientists from high-income countries for the purpose of promoting the development of existing solid organ transplant programs.