Plan seeks to “slow down increase in transplant waiting lists”
Portugal’s Order of Physicians is preparing a proposal to change the law to allow post-mortem organ harvesting in controlled cardiorespiratory arrest.
What it means is that organs of people – who are being artificially kept alive – could be ‘harvested’ to give life to others.
Such a delicate topic is put slightly differently. The plan is described as designed to “slow down the increase in waiting lists for transplants”.
What it really means is finding a way of harvesting more in the way of usable organs from patients who will never recover.
The issue is to be debated this afternoon at the Order’s headquarters, as part of Maastricht III Clarification Day, an event organised by the OM’s Commission for the Regulation of Organ Harvesting from Donors in Controlled Cardio-Circulatory Arrest (Maastricht III).
“The aim of this commission is to fill a gap that exists in organ donation in Portugal, namely in its regulation, because practically everywhere in the western world (…) there is a type of organ donation which is this Maastricht category 3, which makes a very significant contribution to organ donation in several countries,” coordinator of the Order’s working group, Eduardo Sousa, explained to Lusa.
According to Sousa, Maastricht III “is something that is included in end-of-life care, in good end-of-life care
“Every day, in intensive care units, there are situations that unfortunately don’t go well. These are situations where the treatment didn’t work. People don’t get better, their situation continues to deteriorate, and the medical teams (…) end up concluding that all therapeutic efforts are futile.
“This situation is communicated to the family, and what is usually done is to suspend these treatments, and the person ends up dying”.
The Order’s ambition is to be able to take advantage of these kinds of situations to harvest organs immediately post-mortem.
Eduardo Sousa explains that a document is being produced (to be ready by end June) to allow “other Maastricht categories to be included in organ donation”.
Right now in Portugal, organ harvesting – kidney, liver, lung, heart and pancreas – can only be carried out on donors who have died of circulatory causes “in a manner not controlled by the medical team” – such as after unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Once finalised, the Order’s text will be presented to the National Ethics Council for Life Sciences (CNECV) and taken to the Ministry of Health for consideration.
Even so, Eduardo Sousa considers Portugal “an exemplary country in terms of organ donation”, despite the fact that more than 2,000 people are on the waiting list for transplants.
“In Portugal, in the last two years, we have reached the highest figures ever in terms of organ donation. Therefore, with the activity we already have on the ground at the moment, it’s very difficult to improve on these figures. What we need to do is explore this path of Maastricht category 3 donation,”.
Carlos Cortes, president of the Order, points out that this is a discussion that has been going on for more than 10 years, and that “it is something’ that is already being done in several European countries, such as Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Belgium, as well as in Canada and the United States.
“There is a need here to find technical models that can allow for more organs and more viable organs. Maastricht III will further boost organ donation in Portugal for those who need them,” he emphasised.
Source material: LUSA
