According to the recent guidelines provided by the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG), health professionals and health authorities should be provided with guidance and training to assist them in the identification of patients who may have received an organ transplant abroad in circumstances consistent with trafficking in human organs (THO) and/or human trafficking for organ removal (HTOR). Once identified, the information about these cases should be communicated to national and/or international law enforcement agencies (LEA).
The list of possible indicators (red flags) of illegitimate travel for transplantation. which has been compiled by the joint experience of DICG members, and which should help clinicians identify these cases, will be discussed.
Once identified, the case of a potential illegitimate travel for transplantation should be communicated by the health professional to the local LEA, preferably through a national contact point designated to collect this type of information. The unique Israeli experience with this mode of operation will be presented, and the potential concerns about providing this information to LEA, regarding a potential breach of legal or ethical duties to protect patient privacy and medical confidentiality, will be discussed.
