Organ trafficking and transplant tourism: The role of global professional ethical standards - The 2008 declaration of Istanbul

Gabriel M. Danovitch*, Jeremy Chapman, Alexander M. Capron, Adeera Levin, Mario Abbud-Filho, Mustafa Al Mousawi, William Bennett, Debra Budiani-Saberi, William Couser, Ian Dittmer, Vivek Jha, Jacob Lavee, Dominique Martin, Marwan Masri, Saraladevi Naicker, Shiro Takahara, Annika Tibell, Faissal Shaheen, Vathsala Anantharaman, Francis L. Delmonico

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

By 2005, human organ trafficking, commercialization, and transplant tourism had become a prominent and pervasive influence on transplantation therapy. The most common source of organs was impoverished people in India, Pakistan, Egypt, and the Philippines, deceased organ donors in Colombia, and executed prisoners in China. In response, in May 2008, The Transplantation Society and the International Society of Nephrology developed the Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism consisting of a preamble, a set of principles, and a series of proposals. Promulgation of the Declaration of Istanbul and the formation of the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group to promote and uphold its principles have demonstrated that concerted, strategic, collaborative, and persistent actions by professionals can deliver tangible changes. Over the past 5 years, the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group organized and encouraged cooperation among professional bodies and relevant international, regional, and national governmental organizations, which has produced significant progress in combating organ trafficking and transplant tourism around the world. At a fifth anniversary meeting in Qatar in April 2013, the DICG took note of this progress and set forth in a Communiqué a number of specific activities and resolved to further engage groups from many sectors in working toward the Declaration's objectives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1306-1312
Number of pages7
JournalTransplantation
Volume95
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jun 2013

Keywords

  • Declaration of Istanbul
  • Organ trafficking
  • Transplant tourism

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Organ trafficking and transplant tourism: The role of global professional ethical standards - The 2008 declaration of Istanbul'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this