title: Organ transplantation and gender differences: a paradigmatic example of intertwining between biological and sociocultural determinants.
abstract: Organ transplantation, e.g., of the heart, liver, or kidney, is nowadays a routine strategy to counteract several lethal human pathologies. From literature data and from data obtained in Italy, a striking scenario appears well evident: women are more often donors than recipients. On the other hand, recipients of organs are mainly males, probably reflecting a gender bias in the incidence of transplant-related pathologies. The impact of sex mismatch on transplant outcome remains debated, even though donor-recipient sex mismatch, due to biological matters, appears undesirable in female recipients. In our opinion, the analysis of how sex and gender can interact and affect grafting success could represent a mandatory task for the management of organ transplantation.
authors.affiliation: National Transplant Center (CNT), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Puoti
authors.affiliation: National Transplant Center (CNT), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: National Transplant Center (CNT), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nanni-Costa
authors.affiliation: National Transplant Center (CNT), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy ; Section of Gender Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
authors.affiliation: Section of Gender Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy ; Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Malorni
authors.affiliation: Section of Gender Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortona
keywords: Gender differences; Sex differences; Transplantation