Proposals to introduce a scheme whereby all citizens in Wales are automatically registered for organ donation, unless they opt-out, have been heavily criticised by church leaders, who have described the move as ‘ill-judged’ in a joint statement released early this week.
At present, doctors are strictly prohibited from removing organs from a dead patient unless the patient had previously agreed to the procedure by joining the Organ Donor Register.
Under the proposed scheme, all patients will be presumed to have consented to organ donation unless they have filed a formal refusal prior to their death.
Criticism
The Roman Catholic Church in Wales, Church in Wales and Wales Orthodox Mission have criticised the Welsh government for ignoring the serious ethical and moral concerns raised by the new scheme.
In their letter to the government they have outlined proposals that seek to “preserve the dignity and autonomy of every person” whilst simultaneously “creating a proper framework in which the gift of human organs after death is precisely that - an act of solidarity, generosity and love."
"Our main concern is that the positive ethos of donation as a free gift is being endangered by an ill-judged if well-intentioned proposal to move from voluntary donation to presumed consent", said the letter.
In a statement last year the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, asked the Welsh government to drop the proposals, warning that a scheme of “presumed consent” would undermine trust between doctors and patients and lead to the treatment of organs as “assets of the state”, as opposed to a voluntary gift by the patient.
Dr Morgan said: "Organ donation surely ought to be a matter of gift and not of duty.”
"Giving organs is the most generous act of self giving imaginable but it has to be a choice that is freely embraced, not something that the state assumes.
"Put more crudely, it can turn volunteers into conscripts.
"I think that compromises individual rights and freedoms and poses the moral question as to whether the state can make such decisions."
The government is currently running a public consultation on the proposed scheme, which is due to close on 31 January this year.
Briefing paper
The Christian Medical Fellowship has issued a briefing paper which highlights some of the ethical and practical issues raised by the proposal. A full copy of the paper can be found here.
The paper notes that:
- A soft-opt out system is ethically tricky: Organ donation is a generous gift and a striking example of the principle of putting the needs of others before one’s own needs. However consent to donation should be voluntary (un-coerced), informed and autonomous.
- When organ donation becomes ‘presumed’, it is no longer a voluntary gift, nor a ‘donation’. It is about taking, not giving organs. Although it is argued that the family would be asked for consent, this raises questions as whether it can be ethical for ‘family’ to consent for an individual who has not actively consented, and could have done so?
Consultation
Please add your voice to the consultation. The briefing paper from the Christian Medical Fellowship can be found here.
The proposals can be found here. The consultation response form is here. The consultation period will end on 31 January 2012.
Links
Government Consultation: proposals for presumed opt-out scheme for organ donation
Christian Medical Fellowship: Briefing Paper