Cross-Border Quest: The Reality and Legality of Transplant Tourism
Table 1
Interview topics and example questions.
Topic
Example question
Demographic variables
-What education did you follow? -What is your current job?
Organ trade and trafficking in the Netherlands
-Do you know any cases involving illegal organ trade or trafficking in the Netherlands? -Can you describe these cases?
Transplant tourism: number and nature
-Are there patients who are removed from the waiting list (with the exception of those who died) who have not received a deceased or living donor organ? -Are there patients who have gone abroad for organ transplants? -Are there patients who have gone abroad to purchase an organ for transplant? -How do you know the organs are purchased? -How often do patients from your centre go abroad for paid organ transplants? -Are these cases registered? -How do these patients find information about transplants abroad?
Patient demographics
-What is the age, sex, and nationality of these patients?
Destination countries
-Which countries did these patients travel to?
Medical care
-Do these patients need medical care when they return? -What kind of complications occurred? -Do you provide medical care? -What does this care involve? -Do you help patients before they go abroad? -What kind of help do you give them? -What are your reasons to help them? -What are your reasons not to help them?
Information about the donor
-Is there information available about the donor in the returning patient’s medical record? -If so, what kind of information?
Information about the hospital and physician abroad
-What kind of information is known about the hospital and/or physicians abroad?