Legal and Ethical Aspects of Organ Transplantation

Organ transplantation raises singularly difficult ethical and legal issues in its requirement for donated organs. Strategies to facilitate supply in the face of increasing demand must be ethically sound and subject to an appropriate and effective regulatory framework. Professor David Price reviews the ethical principles and positions underpinning such law and policies, probing for coherence, consistency and justification. The book incorporates a comprehensive analysis of existing laws and policies governing transplantation practices around the world. It examines the meaning of death, cadaver organ procurement policies, use of living donors, trading in human organs, experimental transplant procedures and xenotransplantation. Drawing upon a wide range of disciplinary and empirical materials Price explores the balance between the interests of donors, recipients, clinicians, and society, identifying the specific challenges of this subject and seeking to guide current practices and future developments in the context of cultural diversity and pluralistic societies.

'The limited space of this review is impossible to do justice to the full complexities of the arguments advanced in the Legal and Ethical Aspects of Organ Transplantation. Perhaps the most crucial thread, which underpins the text, is the emphasis upon the need for respect for individual autonomy and upon the cultural and community context within which such transplantation decisions are made. … Legal and Ethical Aspects of Organ Transplantation is an excellent book which will undoubtedly be one of the first ports of call for scholars in the area.' Medical Law Review, 'Legal and Ethical Aspects of Organ Transplantation is an excellent book which will undoubtedly be one of the first ports of call for scholars in the area.' Jean McHale, University of Leicester, ' … an impressively-researched volume, a cornucopia of relevant data and interesting material, and deserves to become a standard work of reference. It will be a valuable resource for those involved in the clinical, ethical, legal, and public policy aspects of transplantation. … Price's consideration of these questions is often thoughtful, balanced and challeging.' The Cambridge Law Journal, 'This is a particularly welcome addition to the emergent library of international biomedical ethics and comparative law.' Journal of Medical Ethics

David Price is Professor of Medical Law at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. He is Chairperson of the EUROTOLD Project Management Group of the European Commission and a member of the World Health Organisation Task Force on Organ Transplantation.