Significant inequalities in patients' access to kidney transplantation from a living donor continue to be recorded across Europe, with place of residence, socio-economic status and ethnicity among the factors examined by a new pan-European scientific publication.
The research is of particular interest to Cyprus, as it was carried out under the guidance of Clinical Assistant Professor Andreas Koushos, of the Medical School of the European University Cyprus, while it comes almost simultaneously with the publication of new official data by the Ministry of Health on transplants and organ donation in Cyprus.
Over 500,000 people need dialysis or transplant
The pan-European paper, published in the scientific journal Transplant International, examines the different practices and access to kidney transplants from living donors in Europe.
According to the announcement of the European University Cyprus, more than 500,000 people across Europe need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. However, the possibilities of accessing a living donor transplant vary significantly depending on the patient's place of residence.
Scientists are looking at, among other things, disparities linked to geographical location, socio-economic status and ethnicity, but also differences between European systems in terms of donor evaluation, informed consent, long-term follow-up and access to kidney exchange programmes.
The European picture is complemented by the latest official data for Cyprus, which was published just yesterday, October 5, by the Ministry of Health, on the occasion of the European Day of Organ, Tissue and Cell Donation.
From 1986 to 2026, 1,171 kidney transplants were performed in Cyprus. 773 were made by living donors and 398 by deceased donors. Based on these numbers, about two out of three kidney transplants performed over time in Cyprus involved a transplant from a living donor.
In total, during the same period, 1,108 donors were recorded, of which 773 were living and 335 were deceased.
Kidney exchanges in focus
One of the points to which the pan-European work attaches particular importance is the expansion of national and cross-border kidney exchange programmes.
It is a mechanism that can provide a way out when a person is willing to donate a kidney to a specific patient, but there is no required compatibility between them. Through matching with other pairs of donors and recipients, chains of compatible transplants can be created.
In this area, Cyprus already has experience of transnational cooperation with Israel. In September 2024, the largest chain of cross-border transplants that had been performed in Cyprus to date was performed, with a total of eight transplants, three in Cyprus and five in Israel.
The collaboration continued in 2025, when a new cross-transplant was performed between the two countries, with the exchange of kidneys from living donors.
What scientists are asking for
The new European publication sets as priorities the harmonisation of donor evaluation, the expansion of national and cross-border kidney exchange programmes, better information to prospective donors about the risks, their long-term monitoring and the better integration of European transplant data.
As pointed out in the publication, the protection of people who offer to become donors must go hand in hand with the effort to reduce inequalities in patients' access to transplantation.
The research resulted from a pan-European symposium of the European Kidney Transplant Association (EKITA) in collaboration with the DESCARTES working group of the European Society of Nephrology. The promotion of kidney transplantation from a living donor has been set by EKITA as a strategic priority for the period 2026–2027.
At the same time, Cyprus is currently in the European spotlight of organ donation, as it hosts the European Organ, Tissue and Cell Donation Day 2026, with the main ceremony taking place on October 9 in Paphos.
