Western researchers urge legislation to end organ donation anonymity

A team of researchers at Western is calling for an end to a long-held, strict policy of anonymity in organ donations, pushing for new legislation that will allow donor families to connect with organ recipients, if they choose to. In a new commentary published in Canadian Journal of Cardiology , Western bioethicist Charles Weijer, post-doctoral fellow Nicholas Murphy, and their collaborators argued that existing legislation, in Ontario and other Canadian provinces and territories, preventing families of deceased donors from identifying their beneficiaries is outdated and unfair. The commentary suggested the need for policy change across Canada. "A growing number of jurisdictions both in Canada and internationally are realizing that restrictive approaches to donor family and recipient contact are outdated and unfairly limit the autonomy of mutually consenting stakeholders," said Weijer, a professor at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Western's department of philosophy. "It is time for all Canadian provinces and territories to address this new reality." Weijer, a leading expert on the ethics of randomized controlled trials, noted there is growing recognition that direct contact between deceased donors' families and organ recipients can be beneficial for mutually consenting parties. In fact, three provinces - British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia - now have mechanisms in place for mediating direct contact. "The rest of Canada should harmonize policies with these progressive jurisdictions to allow interested donor families and organ recipients to benefit from direct contact," said Murphy.