Legislating organ donation: problems with this approach.
The number of organs available for transplantation in Canada is insufficient to meet the demand, so many patients die waiting for surgery. Improving the supply of donor organs by enacting legislation is controversial. Three approaches to legislation have been suggested: required request, mandated choice, and presumed consent. Required-request legislation demands that physicians ask all families of potential donors for permission to retrieve organs. Mandated choice requires all adults to register whether they wish to be organ donors. Presumed consent allows the removal of organs without permission if no choice was registered. These laws are aimed at coercion of physicians, patients and families retrospectively, but their relative success and ethics are questionable. Facilitating the organ donation process may be a better solution.
Sutherland
F R
FR
HOPE Program, University of Calgary, Health Sciences Centre, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary AB T2N 4N1, Canada.
D002170:Canada; D003068:Coercion; D006801:Humans; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D037141:Mandatory Programs; D019724:Presumed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011640:Public Policy; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000523:psychology; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*