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Organ Donation & Transplantation

Organ Donation & Transplantation Bibliography

The following sources do not necessarily reflect the Center's position or values. These sources, however, are excellent resources for familiarizing oneself with the all sides of the issue.

Commodities Trading or Gift Exchange: Where will tomorrow’s organ donors come from?

Author: 
Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

It is a sad, true, and often reprised story; the need for solid organ donations egregiously exceeds the supply. The palpable desperation experienced by those who wait, but also frequently die, has led to a variety of proposals aimed at increasing organ supply. Some of these remedies are just and some are not.


Length: 7:07

An Inevitable Collision: The Culture of Death Strikes at Transplantation

Author: 
Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

How does one begin to report such horror?1 Ruben Navarro was 26 years old; he suffered from “severe” mental retardation and had been a resident of a long term care home. He unfortunately sustained a cardiac and respiratory arrest and was admitted to the hospital on life support on January 29, 2007. Unfortunately, what could go wrong did go wrong. In an operating room on February 3, he was to become an organ donor. Although the idea itself was altruistic, that is, Mr.


Length: 6:03

Donor after Cardiac Death: What Is the Christian’s Response?

Author: 
Ferdinand D. Yates Jr., MD, MA

The notion of organ donation after cardiac death (DCD) came into prominent public view in 1993, with the national awareness of the Pittsburgh Protocol.[i] More recently, the U.S.


Length: 16:09

The Transplantation Revolution: From Vital to Non-Vital Organs and Finally to Faces?

Author: 
Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

The announcement that the first face transplant had been accomplished December 3 and 4 at Amiens University Hospital in Northern France was greeted by a healthy dose of criticism. This story has the making of a soap opera. Isabelle Dinoire, 38 years of age, sustained “horrific wounds from a dog bite in May . . .

Sharing Scarce Organs with Others: Designating Donation as a Model of Giving

Author: 
Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

When organ transplantation is characterized by the covenantal sharing of scarce resources, as it should be under ideal circumstances, it optimally reflects giving to the "least of these."1Recently, a Latino man was dying as a result of Sclerosing Cholangitis.2 This is the untreatable liver disease that claimed the life of Chicago Bears' great Walter Payton.

Transplanting HIV Positive Organs Into HIV Positive Patients

Author: 
Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

It would be refreshing to critique an organ donation plan that would increase supply without simultaneously violating ethical constraints. The law of supply and demand has imposed unforgiving rules on solid organ transplantation. As a result, there has been a flurry of activity aimed at the problem. Unfortunately, efforts to date have been disturbing in a number of ways.

Liver Transplants: How Do We Choose Who Should Live When Not All Can?

Author: 
Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

With a scarce, non-renewable resource such as livers for transplantation, shouldn’t the individuals who receive organs be the persons who need them most? If recipients could be selected based on need, allocation finally could be divorced from onerous criteria such as social value. Since need in this context can be equated with death (if life-saving treatment is withheld), the manner in which recipients are chosen becomes paramount. On an existential level, the question may be reduced simply to choosing who should live when not all can.