Organ Transplantation Guidelines Available for Public Consultation

While Australia has one of the highest organ transplantation success rates in the world, there are still 1500 Australians waiting for a transplant at any given time.
Because demand for organs is greater than their availability, it is important to ensure the prioritisation of recipients is ethical and transparent.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released its draft guideline on the organ transplant allocation process which is now available for public consultation.
The draft document, Ethical guidelines for organ transplantation from deceased donors, was developed with advice from an expert working group and  developed at the request of the Organ and Tissue Authority and Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ).
“Deciding how to allocate organs for transplantation is a very complex process and raises a number of ethical issues and dilemmas. There are many ways to determine why  one person should receive an organ over another, rather than just one ‘right’ way,” NHMRC CEO Professor Warwick Anderson said.
“Once finalised, these guidelines will provide an overarching framework to help decision-makers with the tough calls in ethically robust ways,” he said.
The guidelines state that there must be no discrimination against potential recipients on medically irrelevant grounds and factors that need to be considered include the potential benefit to the individual, length of time awaiting a transplant, the urgency of the need for a transplant and the likelihood that the recipient will be able to adhere to the necessary post-operative treatment and health advice.
The guidelines also cover the importance of discussing transplantation with potential recipients well before an organ becomes available, consent and the need to respect choices of potential recipients to refuse the offer of an organ.
Public consultation is a vital step in the guideline's implementation process.
“More than 1000 Australians underwent organ transplantation in 2013 so it is important that the public is satisfied with the values and principles that guide how decisions around allocation are made,” Professor Anderson said
Public consultation on the draft Ethical guidelines for organ transplantation from deceased donors closes on 6 March at 5:00pm AEDT. To make a submission, visit the NHMRC Public Consultations website