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?

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

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?

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

Please UNOS-Transplantation is a Fragile Public Trust

It has been said that, “. . . it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.”1 The words themselves tell us something about human nature, and unfortunately, are prescient in the context of organ transplants. At a time when a severe shortfall in donation has become emotionally palpable—approximately 18 people die every day while waiting—transplantation survives, imbedded within a fabric of trust.

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

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 . . .

Informed Consent in Living Organ Donors

Informed Consent has become one of the cornerstones of medical practice. A recent series of articles in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch raises questions concerning what constitutes adequate informed consent for well patients who offer to undergo surgery to provide organs for transplantation.1  While I do serve on the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation at the Department of Health and Human Services, this article expresses my personal thoughts and is not meant to represent the opinions of that committee.

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

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

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.