Could newborns solve the kidney shortage crisis?
Kidneys from newborn babies could be a “game-changing” solution to organ shortage crisis, according to an American study. According to a paper presented at the...
Nigerian power couple convicted in London over organ trafficking plot
In May last year, a young Nigerian man stumbled into a police station into the English town of Staines, in Surrey, and appealed for help....
Mass confusion
Massachusetts politicians who proposed that prison inmates could reduce their sentences if they donated organs have retreated from their original proposal. BioEdge was one of...
New frontiers in organ donation: from DDR to ODE to LVOD
After Organ Donor Euthanasia (ODE), what’s next? Living vital organ donation (LVOD) – giving your heart away even though you aren’t ill or dying. Apologies...
Massachusetts politicians propose prisoners as organ donors
Massachusetts is a state where conservatism goes to die, so it was astonishing to read a bill in its legislature to effectively pay prisoners for...
The ‘dead donor rule’ takes another one on the chin
Another attack on the dead donor rule comes in this month’s Journal of Medical Ethics. Anthony P. Smith, a philosopher at the University of Utah,...
New protocol for death of organ donors makes doctors and bioethicists nervous
A new protocol for determining death for transplant surgery has created a controversy amongst surgeons and bioethicists. An article in MedPage Today subtitled “Is it...
Killing prisoners for transplants: Forced organ harvesting in China
Organ transplantation is a life-saving therapy for millions of patients and one of the greatest successes of modern medicine. However, a limited supply of donor...
Chinese gangs using ‘blood slaves’
Organ transplant technology has led to well-documented abuses. But it’s novel to hear of blood transfusion as a criminal activity. The South China Morning Post...
Hungry Afghans selling their kidneys — and their daughters
Reports like this should be tempered with scepticism, but there are persistent rumours that families in Afghanistan are selling organs and even their children to...
‘A pure act of altruism’: organ donation after euthanasia
Dutch physicians argue for at-home euthanasia before retrieving organs Organ donation after euthanasia is possible in the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. However, it still is...
China breaks up organ-donor racket
A criminal case which saw four doctors jailed is likely to lead to tighter rules on organ donations. Four high-ranking doctors have been jailed in...