Recent Advances in TransplantationRenal transplantationBarriers to Organ Transplantation in the Algerian Health System from the Perspective of Health Professionals: A Qualitative Approach

•According to health professionals in Algeria, organ donation and transplantation are late-coming therapies and do not meet population needs.•Difficulties to provide organ transplantation services encompass structural factors of the health system, such as patient load and disorganization of referral procedures, and specific problems, such lack of leadership, difficult access to available resources, and lack of information and social awareness.•Management policies should be guided toward health system strengthening, workforce training, and prioritizing transplantation over hemodialysis to improve patient quality of life.

BackgroundOrgan transplantation is often the only treatment for end-stage organ failure and is considered to be a cost-effective intervention with high impact on the health and quality of life of patients with chronic illnesses. Algeria has low rates of organ donation and transplantation, and health system coverage is not sufficient for the large number of patients awaiting this type of treatment. Physicians' perspectives about the health system are essential to understanding the obstacles present in the development of transplant services. The objective of this study was to explore health professionals' perspectives about the barriers to the development of transplantation management in the Algerian health system.MethodsA qualitative study was carried out by means of semistructured interviews with 17 doctors from various medical specialties. A thematic analysis was conducted on their discourses, using as a reference the World Health Organization Health Systems Framework model for an effectively functioning health system.ResultsPhysicians reported facing challenges in carrying out their professional functions. They also identified barriers to the development of organ donation and transplantation services in terms of community information and awareness, investment in infrastructure and technologies, and development of human resources and service management.ConclusionsCoordinated and multidisciplinary interventions are needed to overcome these barriers and to develop organ donation and transplantation services in Algeria.