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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Transplant. Mar 18, 2026; 16(1): 111980
Published online Mar 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v16.i1.111980
Published online Mar 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v16.i1.111980
Microplastics in organ transplantation: An emerging threat requiring immediate action
Angeliki Emmanouilidou, Filippos F Karageorgos, Georgios Tsoulfas, Department of Trans
Aleck H Alexopoulos, Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi 57001, Greece
Author contributions: Alexopoulos AH wrote the original draft; Emmanouilidou A, Karageorgos FF and Tsoulfas G contributed to conceptualization, writing, reviewing and editing; Alexopoulos AH participated in drafting the manuscript; and all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements), or non-financial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Aleck H Alexopoulos, PhD, Senior Researcher, Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, 6th km Harilaou-Thermi Road, Thermi 57001, Greece. aleck@certh.gr
Received: July 14, 2025
Revised: August 4, 2025
Accepted: October 10, 2025
Published online: March 18, 2026
Processing time: 183 Days and 22.9 Hours
Revised: August 4, 2025
Accepted: October 10, 2025
Published online: March 18, 2026
Processing time: 183 Days and 22.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Microplastic contamination poses a hidden risk in organ transplantation, with potential to trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and antimicrobial resistance. This letter calls for urgent research and immediate mitigation strategies, urging the transplant community to lead proactive responses to this emerging threat.