Australia has never had a great deceased organ donor rate – and it fell last year. But proposed guidelines from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) could change how donor organs are…
Trust in doctors to do the right thing.
Organ by Shutterstock
The recent inquest into a case in Wales where two patients died following kidney transplants has focused fresh attention on the risks associated with transplantation. No transplant is risk-free, but the…
Pig cells could be used to deliver insulin to Type 1 diabetes patients via an implant under the skin, potentially freeing sufferers from the need to have regular insulin injections, according to researchers…
We love the NHS but maybe we love life more.
PA/Dave Thompson
Giving priority for transplants to people who have joined the organ donor register (ODR) isn’t a new idea and is already happening in countries such as Israel and Singapore. In Israel, where a points-based…
Organ trafficking and illicit transplant surgeries have infiltrated global medical practice. But despite the evidence of widespread criminal networks and several limited prosecutions in countries including…
On a weekend in mid-September 2012, a team of gynaecologists and transplant specialists at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden, performed two uterus transplants with living donors. In both cases…
The global organ transplant market appears to have reached a new low this week, with reports in The Guardian that one organ is sold every hour somewhere in the world. This follows a Chinese media expos…
Scientists say they have developed a way to use a patient’s own stem cells to build fully functional organs in a laboratory, in a potential solution to the global donor shortage crisis. The technique involves…
Pigs may be the answer to Australia’s organ donor shortage.
Thornypup
Transplantation is the best available treatment for many serious health problems including diabetes, kidney failure and heart disease. These conditions affect millions of people worldwide and the cost…
Families need to discuss organ donations so they don’t withdraw consent after death.
Muffet/Flickr
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics in the United Kingdom has suggested a scheme to gauge support for the idea of government funding for funerals of people who donate their organs. The recommendation follows…
A new study shows the liver destroys the cells responsible for rejected organ transplants.
Most people only think about their liver when recovering from a big night of drinking when it’s busily producing enzymes to break down the alcohol. But this “factory” of the body is vital for survival…
Reimbursing for costs is standard in research but large payments present problems.
Flickr/PACOM
The Commonwealth Government is considering a proposal from Kidney Health Australia to reimburse living kidney donors for reasonable expenses incurred during the donation process, such as loss of income…
The arduous journey to joining an organ donation waiting list is fair and ethical but makes potential recipients desperate.
AAP
What are we to make of reports this week that police are investigating a case of a young woman trafficked from the Philippines so a Sydney woman on an organ donation waiting list could have her kidney…
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford