Britain's health secretary has ordered an investigation into a report that a hospital allowed the family of an organ donor to specify that the organs would be given only to white patients.
The incident reportedly occurred in July 1997 at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, and a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television program recently aired the allegations.
The donor's kidneys were given to a white person; however, because no details about the waiting list were available, it was impossible to tell whether the recipient was given preference over others, the BBC reported on July 7 (http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_387000/387817.stm).
According to the BBC, Health Secretary Frank Dobson said that he "was appalled" when he learned of the situation. "As soon as I heard, I asked my permanent secretary to carry out an urgent investigation to find out what happened and to ensure it never happens again." A statement issued by Britain's Department of Health described donated organs as "a national resource which is available to people regardless of race, religion, age or other circumstances."
The issue has sparked much debate. The BBC is asking readers to vote whether conditions should be attached to organ donation (http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_388000/388215.asp). Most of the respondents who have posted comments disagree with the practice of attaching stipulations to organ donation, particularly as regards factors such as race. Several respondents, however, specified they would not want to donate organs to patients whose conditions they considered self-imposed. "Why should a smoker have my lungs, an alcoholic my liver…" one person wrote.
For Your Information:
See the sites listed above. Also, a British transplant surgeon discusses his experience with preconditions for organ transplants at http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_389000/389436.stm.
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