Regulation of Sub-Optimal Organ Transplantation: A Primer

Abstract

Adverse outcomes from sub-optimal organs – including the death of two kidney recipients in the UK in 2013 – raise questions about the potential for surgeons to be held liable for using sub-optimal rather than standard or optimal organs. Could surgeons, transplant teams, ICU physicians, or hospitals be liable if the sub-optimal organ passes on an infection or cancer? When should transplant teams decline the offer of an organ from a compromised donor? How much detailed information should transplant teams pass on to potential recipients about the risks associated with the sub-optimal organ? If the recipient accepts the risks associated with a sub-optimal organ, does this absolve the surgeon of responsibility for those risks? This paper set the scene for an interdisciplinary academic discussion of these questions on 18 November 2016 at the University of Cambridge. The paper encourages readers to engage with higher order questions about regulatory design.