The Alabama Organ Center is an Organ Procurement
and Transplant Network (OPTN) / United Network for Organs Sharing (UNOS)
member institution. We support the following guidance regarding solicitation
for deceased donor organs.
OPTN/UNOS Statement Regarding Solicitation of Deceased
Donation
The overwhelming majority of deceased donor transplants occur anonymously and without specifying an intended recipient of the donated organ. The existence of a personal bond that would cause a donor or donor family to favor a named transplant candidate is rare. Attempts to develop such a personal bond through unsolicited contact with or public appeals to families of deceased donors are problematic.
The national system for allocating organs from deceased donors for transplantation is founded on the principles of equity and medical benefit. All involved in the OPTN/UNOS work diligently to increase organ donation in ways that contribute to fairness for all transplant candidates and uphold the national standards developed and approved after thorough review and consensus-building among all affected groups, including donor and patient representatives.
Recognizing that organ donation and transplantation are founded on altruism and equity, the OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors opposes any attempt by an individual transplant candidate (or his/her representatives) to solicit organ donation from a deceased donor ahead of other waiting candidates in a manner that subverts the established principles and objectives of equitable organ allocation. This is a particular concern when commercial space is utilized to solicit directed donation from a member of the public for a specific candidate. Such efforts may divert organs from patients with critical need to those who are less ill. In addition, such appeals, although well-intentioned, compromise the principle of fairness.
The Board encourages anyone considering a public appeal to promote the overall need for organ donation and not solicit an organ donation for an individual candidate.
If an OPTN member institution is involved in a situation concerning a public plea for donation of deceased donor organs to a specific individual, the Board recommends that the member reinforce to the candidate and/or donor family that the OPTN system is designed to allocate organs equitably according to the greatest need and/or benefit of all candidates. Should the candidate or donor family persist in their wishes, the member institution should act foremost to ensure equity within the transplant system, with additional consideration of relevant medical facts, ethical guidelines, and applicable laws and allocation policies.
The statement below, recommended by the OPTN/UNOS Ethics Committee, addresses the narrower issue of in-person attempts to solicit families of potential donors.
OPTN/UNOS Statement Regarding Unsolicited Direct Contact of Potential Deceased Donor Families RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors opposes the unsolicited, direct contact of potential deceased donor families by private individuals to receive a donated organ(s) for transplantation by directed donation because this practice subverts equitable organ allocation as intended by the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).
The overwhelming majority of deceased donor transplants occur anonymously and without specifying an intended recipient of the donated organ. The existence of a personal bond that would cause a donor or donor family to favor a named transplant candidate is rare. Attempts to develop such a personal bond through unsolicited contact with or public appeals to families of deceased donors are problematic.
The national system for allocating organs from deceased donors for transplantation is founded on the principles of equity and medical benefit. All involved in the OPTN/UNOS work diligently to increase organ donation in ways that contribute to fairness for all transplant candidates and uphold the national standards developed and approved after thorough review and consensus-building among all affected groups, including donor and patient representatives.
Recognizing that organ donation and transplantation are founded on altruism and equity, the OPTN/UNOS Board of Directors opposes any attempt by an individual transplant candidate (or his/her representatives) to solicit organ donation from a deceased donor ahead of other waiting candidates in a manner that subverts the established principles and objectives of equitable organ allocation. This is a particular concern when commercial space is utilized to solicit directed donation from a member of the public for a specific candidate. Such efforts may divert organs from patients with critical need to those who are less ill. In addition, such appeals, although well-intentioned, compromise the principle of fairness.
The Board encourages anyone considering a public appeal to promote the overall need for organ donation and not solicit an organ donation for an individual candidate.
If an OPTN member institution is involved in a situation concerning a public plea for donation of deceased donor organs to a specific individual, the Board recommends that the member reinforce to the candidate and/or donor family that the OPTN system is designed to allocate organs equitably according to the greatest need and/or benefit of all candidates. Should the candidate or donor family persist in their wishes, the member institution should act foremost to ensure equity within the transplant system, with additional consideration of relevant medical facts, ethical guidelines, and applicable laws and allocation policies.
The statement below, recommended by the OPTN/UNOS Ethics Committee, addresses the narrower issue of in-person attempts to solicit families of potential donors.
OPTN/UNOS Statement Regarding Unsolicited Direct Contact of Potential Deceased Donor Families RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors opposes the unsolicited, direct contact of potential deceased donor families by private individuals to receive a donated organ(s) for transplantation by directed donation because this practice subverts equitable organ allocation as intended by the national Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).