Organ donation laws are 'costing lives', says Bath expert

[okarol]

Organ donation laws are 'costing lives', says Bath expert

Saturday, November 01, 2008, 17:37

A University of Bath researcher is calling for a shake-up of the organ donation system to save lives and stop the illegal trade of body parts.

Dr John Troyer, an expert in organ donation and the illegal trade of organs at the University of Bath's Centre for Death and Society, is urging health ministers to implement legislation for an opt-out organ donation system.

There are more than 7,500 patients on transplant waiting lists in the UK, despite a quarter of the country's population – 16 million people – being registered as organ donors. At least one patient dies while on the transplant waiting list every day.

The law allows a bereaved family to decide if their loved one's organs can be used in a transplant, but the system is fraught with delays and can sometimes mean the deceased person's organs are not used.

Dr Troyer believes anyone who dies should be presumed to have agreed to donate their organs unless they have specifically said otherwise.

This system of presumed consent won support from the British Medical Association, but has had a mixed reception from other medical groups. The Patients' Association said it would be dangerous to presume patients' wishes.

But Dr Troyer says there is an illegal global trade in most body parts, with teeth, nails and bones being used as pharmaceutical products and skin being used to treat burns victims.

Trafficking in body parts illegally harvested from the dead is a lucrative, underground business.

Organs such as kidneys are sold by living donors for large sums of money – especially in the Third World.

Experts have called for the selling of organs to be regulated rather than outlawed to try to increase organ donation and to ensure a fair price to donors and their families.

But Dr Troyer believes this would be a dangerous step to take.

"The reasoning behind regulating the organ trade is that by increasing the domestic supply of organs, the trade on the black market could be reduced," he said.

"Another suggestion is that, instead of cash, families of deceased potential donors could be offered incentives to allow organ donation such as health insurance, funeral expenses or a gift to a charity.

"I believe that organ donation should remain altruistic – like blood donation – with the choice to opt out if preferred. This would make a big difference to the number of organs available and reduce demand on the black market.

"It will also reduce the exploitation of poor people who sell their organs and endanger their health because they are desperate for money."

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Organ-donation-laws-costing-lives-says-Bath-expert/article-443868-detail/article.html