Hundreds of Americans go abroad each year for kidney transplants in order to avoid the long waiting lists in the United States. People who leave the country for these transplants experience more severe post-operative complications, more infections, and a higher risk for acute organ rejection, according to a new study published in the upcoming November issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and their colleagues compared the health conditions of 66 patients who had undergone kidney transplant at UCLA with the conditions of 33 people who had gone abroad for their transplants. A year after transplant, kidney rejection occurred in 30% of those who had gone out of the country and 12% who had undergone transplant at UCLA. 'Transplant tourists' were also three times more likely to be hospitalized for infection after their transplant operation.

In the United States, the average wait for a kidney transplant is approximately five years. Buying or selling human tissue is illegal in the United States, but for many who are awaiting transplant, it is tempting to go abroad and buy organs. However, in other countries, these patients run the risk of poor preventive care for infections and of not knowing where the organs come from or what the health status of the donor was. Although people with chronic kidney disease may feel desperate to free themselves from dialysis, the relative risks and benefits of becoming a transplant tourist should be carefully considered.