Reply: Ethical perspectives on living donor organ transplantation in Asia

Abstract

We thank Omar et al. for their interest in our article entitled “Ethical Perspectives on Living Donor Organ Transplantation in Asia.”1 We are aware that there is no legal compensated living donation in Sweden. With respect to their article “Compensated Living Kidney Donation: A Plea for Pragmatism,”2 to which we referred in our article, we agree that they discussed a proposed scheme of compensated kidney donation as a way of addressing the current kidney shortage because true altruism in living organ donation is usually unsuccessful. As such, we stated that some believe that a regulated market is an ethical vehicle for shortening waiting lists and decreasing illegal organ sales. However, when we added “this concept forms the basis for compensated living donation in Sweden,” we did not mean to imply that compensated living donation is actually happening in Sweden. What we wished to convey is the possibility of implementing compensated living donation in Sweden because altruism only in living kidney donation is generally an unsuccessful doctrine in increasing organ donation2 and just compensation may gain public support and increase living donation. Some European countries share this view, and this position has been voiced by other authors.3 Again, just compensation is an ethical question. Allan M. Concejero M.D.*, Chao-Long Chen M.D.*, * Chang Gung Memorial Hospital–Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.