GEOGRAPHIC ASPECTS OF THE ALLOCATION OF K IDNEY-TRANSPLANTS IN SWITZERLAND

By tradition kidney transplants in Switzerland are allocated to recipi ents on a regional basis. Since multi-organ donation became routine, t eams traveling all over Switzerland have been accused of harvesting no t only the livers but at the same time kidneys, thus withholding such kidneys from regional recipients. In order to investigate this suspici on, we analyzed the place of residence of all kidney donors and recipi ents during a twelve months' period. Shipping for reasons of matching was not analyzed. We found only minor imbalances between the six trans plant centers. We conclude that the allocation of kidney transplants i n Switzerland is satisfactory from a geographical point of view. The a nalysis of donor hospitals, however, shows intense organ recruitment i n the referred area of Zurich. In other regions, abstinence from organ recruitment outside the transplant centers is evident. To increase or gan availability, the motivation and collaboration of hospitals outsid e transplant centers needs to be improved.