Organ Donation

Question 1

What is the human tissue act 2004?

Answer 1

Sets out a legal framework for ‘the storage and use of tissue from the living and for the removal, storage and use of tissue and organs from the dead’
Needs appropriate consent
Excludes embryos and gametes
States it is illegal to buy, sell or have any commercial dealings in the sale of human organs

Question 2

What are the types of organ donation?

Answer 2

Living donation and deceased donation

Genetically/emotionally related donation, paired/pooling donation, altruistic non-directed donation

Question 3

What is the role of the HTA for living donation to occur?

Answer 3

Human Tissue Authority must approve donation before it takes place
No coercion, no reward

Question 4

What happens if the living potential donor lack capacity to consent?

Answer 4

Donation must be approved by the court of law to ensure it is in the patient’s best interests to donate

Question 5

How are potential donors sourced (if not from family/friends)?

Answer 5

Specialist Nurses-Organ Donation (SN-OD)
Usually in intensive care/emergency medicine
Facilitate and communicate with next of kin

Question 6

What happened in Wales in 2013?

Answer 6

Opt-out system
Assumes consent for organ donation
Does not apply to children, people who lack capacity or those who do not live in Wales

Question 7

What happens when someone dies, for them to donate their organs?

Answer 7

A health care professional should endeavour to find out whether the patient had expressed a wish as to what should happen to their organs after death.
Check medical records/look for a card/check organ donor register
If there is evidence of consent by a competent adult then legally organ donation can proceed.
The relatives should be made aware of the patient’s prior consent. If they object, say they should respect the wishes of the deceased, they cannot legally veto the consent
If no consent prior to death has been given, a person in a ‘qualifying relationship’ can give consent (spouse, daughter, parent)

Question 8

Ethical issues of organ donation?

Answer 8

Utilitarian view (benefits majority) to keep a body ventilated after death to allow time for organ donation
Proxy consent by another adult (not respecting the dead?)
Does a dead person have rights? If no, why is there need for consent in deceased donation? Deontologically, this could be seen as wrong- using an individual as a means to another's end

Question 9

Why is selling organs morally wrong?

Answer 9

• Cohen “to sell an integral human body part is to corrupt the very meaning of human dignity”
• Kantian philosophy: not using an individual simply as a means to another’s end
• Financial reward exploits the poor and vulnerable
• Donations should be altruistic

Question 10

Erin and Harris proposed an ideal market for organ donation, how?

Answer 10

• Market confined to state/nation
• Only residents within state could sell into the system and they and their families would be equally eligible to receive organs
• Only one purchaser (eg NHS) who would buy all organs and distribute according to medical priority
• No direct sales or purchases, no exploitation of low income countries and their populations

Question 11

Can you advertise on social media for a kidney?

Answer 11

Yes
Living donor kidney transplants are more successful and can be done while the recipient is healthy and they last longer
If they do not know eachother this is Direct Altruistic Donation and is legal if no evidence of coercion or reward