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Routine Recovery of Cadaveric Organs for Transplantation: Consistent, Fair, and Life-Saving

Aaron Spital^*, and James Stacey Taylor

^* Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York; and Department of Philosophy, College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey

Address correspondence to: Dr. Aaron Spital, Elmhurst Hospital Center, C7-10, 79-01 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY 11373. Phone: 718-334-2569; Fax: 718-205-2285; E-mail: spitala{at}nychhc.org

Many families deny organ recovery from recently deceased relatives. As a result, valuable organs and some of the lives they could save are lost. Several plans designed to rectify this tragic situation have been proposed, including organ sales. We suggest another approach that we believe to be superior and that is rarely discussed: routine recovery of all transplantable cadaveric organs without consent. Here we show that this plan is ethically acceptable, more equitable than our current opting-in approach, consistent with other mandatory social programs, and life-saving. Based on these considerations, we believe that it is time to eliminate entirely the consent requirement for recovery of transplantable cadaveric organs.