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Previous Volume 353:444-446 August 4, 2005 Number 5 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Most organs for transplantation come from cadavers, but as these have failed to meet the growing need for organs, attention has turned to organs from living donors. Organ donation by living donors presents a unique ethical dilemma, in that physicians must risk the life of a healthy person to save or improve the life of a patient. Transplantation surgeons have therefore been cautious in tapping this source. As surgical techniques and outcomes have improved, however, this practice has slowly expanded. Today, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), almost half of all kidney donors in the United States . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

Dr. Truog is a professor of medical ethics and anesthesia (pediatrics) in the Department of Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston.

An interview with Dr. Truog can be heard at www.nejm.org.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Parekh, A. M., Gordon, E. J., Garg, A. X., Waterman, A. D., Kulkarni, S., Parikh, C. R. (2008). Living kidney donor informed consent practices vary between US and non-US centers. Nephrol Dial Transplant 0: gfn295v1-gfn295 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Glannon, W. (2008). Underestimating the risk in living kidney donation. J. Med. Ethics 34: 127-128 [Full Text]  
• Hanto, D. W. (2007). Ethical Challenges Posed by the Solicitation of Deceased and Living Organ Donors. NEJM 356: 1062-1066 [Full Text]  
• Reese, P. P., Caplan, A. L., Kesselheim, A. S., Bloom, R. D. (2006). Creating a Medical, Ethical, and Legal Framework for Complex Living Kidney Donors. CJASN 1: 1148-1153 [Full Text]