Transplant Links Community

Transplant Links Community is a UK registered non-religious and non-political charity that provides hands on training in kidney transplantation for surgeons, doctors and nurses in low-/middle-income countries. Through this transfer of skills, TLC saves the lives of children and adults in the developing world who suffer from life-threatening end stage kidney disease. This training is delivered in the form of hands on surgical assistance (in situ), delivering lectures and training seminars in the hospitals, providing on-going long term support and assistance in developing the infrastructure needed to coordinate a transplant programme, long-distance online learning in the form of videos, presentations, podcasts and online seminars and the development of materials as requested. We provide bespoke support tailored to meet the specific needs of each centre, until they reach a point of sustainability.

Transplant Links was established in 2006 by a group of British doctors with many years of experience in kidney transplantation, wanting to share their skills with doctors and surgeons in developing countries. Kidney failure is a hidden emergency in developing countries, where for most patients the outlook is worse than a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. Teaching skills in renal transplantation can change this. We hope that you will share our passion for this vital work, which is saving lives and improving medical skills and understanding for the future. It gives a healthy member of a family a chance to donate one of their kidneys and save the life of their loved one who is dying from kidney failure.

Transplant Links is a charity which relies totally on charitable donations. It is run with a mighty staff count of 2! Dr Jennie Jewitt-Harris is the CEO of TLC and Aimee is the part time project manager. Together they coordinate the transplant missions, deal with administration, they are the PR team, they manage social media and raise funds for the transplant missions. The very first donation to TLC to get the work started was made by the late Anthony Jewitt, Jennie's Father, just before he passed away. We are honoured to continue to carry out this work in his memory. He liked to make a difference.

Thank you for any help that you can give us. Please take a look around our website to find out more about where we work, who and what is involved, and how you can be a part of it. To find out more about Transplant Links Community you can listen to our podcast.

All photographs are used with permission from patients and are © Transplant Links Community

If you want to make an enquiry about having a kidney transplant in your country at one of our partner centres, you need to contact your local renal centre/nephrologist in your country to discuss it. Please do not contact us about the buying or selling of organs. This is illegal and we will not respond to your message.