Given the shortage of transplantable organs, some potentialrecipients are going to great lengths to find organ donors ontheir own. For example, a patient with advanced liver canceradvertised on a personal Web site, billboards, and in the mediafor a liver,1 leading the family of a brain-dead donor to directthe donor's liver to him.2 A patient undergoing dialysis solicitedon a commercial Web site and received a kidney from a volunteerliving donor.3 The solicitation for organs from deceased andliving donors potentially circumvents the principles of justiceand utility on which organ-allocation policies are based and. . . [Full Text of this Article]
Solicitation of Families of Deceased Donors
Solicitation of Living Donors
Arguments for and against Solicitation
Donor Autonomy
Is the Allocation System Fair?
Does Solicitation Increase Public Awareness and Organ Donation?
Does Solicitation Bypass Fair-Allocation Policies?
Potentially Discriminatory Practices
Does Directed Donation Favor Advantaged Persons?
Risk of Exploitation and the Buying and Selling of Organs
Does Solicitation Divert Organs to Unsuitable Candidates for Transplantation?
Conclusions
Glossary
Source Information
From the Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Address reprint requests to Dr. Hanto at 110 Francis St., 7th Fl., Boston, MA 01742, or at dhanto@bidmc.harvard.edu.
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