The ethics of organ transplants: what would you do?

[Clark]

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4415657-the-ethics-of-organ-transplants-what-would-you-do-/

The ethics of organ transplants: what would you do?
By  Stacey Escott

It's not common for Canadians to consider transplant tourism, but it does happen.

"Generally, it's the rich buying and the poor selling," said researcher Michael Campbell, who has worked as a senior fellow in organ donation and transplantation ethics for Toronto's University Health Network.

"Usually there is a broker or a middle man and it is often connected to organized crime, the donor tends to get a small percentage of the profit and often still remains in poverty."

Campbell was in Hamilton as a guest speaker at a discussion about ethical controversies in organ donation and transplantation, hosted by the local chapter of the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation of Canada.

Campbell, who sits on the foundation's board of directors, was the guest speaker at Sunday's talk, which was held at the Juravinski Innovation Tower and open to the public. Buying an organ on the black market overseas was among the more controversial topics among the discussion group of about a dozen.

A woman in the group, playing devil's advocate, wondered what was wrong with buying an organ if you have the money to do it.

Campbell said because the practice is largely underground, there's no way to determine how many people do it in Canada. A study done at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto a few years ago was the first to demonstrate that health outcomes for Canadian recipients who bought black market organs overseas were not as good as those who got them legitimately, in this country, he noted.

The group also discussed the ethics around buying and selling organs, anonymous donors being able to direct their organs to a specific person, opting-in versus opting-out systems of organ donation and the question of what age is too young to be a donor.

In Ontario, the minimum age to be a living organ donor is 16. But Campbell pointed out that a person in this province can't vote or join the military until age 18, or buy alcohol until they are 19.

One participant talked about the love a teenager may have for a family member — they would want to do anything to save their loved one's life but might not fully understand the sacrifice they would be making, or the future repercussions.

Others thought such decisions should be made on a case by case basis, as there are many adults who may not be fit to do so.