Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee aims to guide the policies and practices of the OPTN related to organ donation, procurement, distribution, allocation, and transplantation so they are consistent with ethical principles. The Committee makes recommendations to Board of Directors for changing, creating, or eliminating policies if warranted by ethical concerns. The Committee also provides written guidance pertaining to ethical considerations to OPTN members, after approval by the Board of Directors. The Committee does not address individual patient issues or disputes.

Current projects

Review

• Ethical Evaluation of Multiple Listing

Implemented

• Ethical Analysis of Normothermic Regional Perfusion
• Ethical Considerations of Continuous Distribution in Organ Allocation (2/2022)
• Transparency in Program Selection (1/2023)
• Revise General Considerations In Assessment for Transplant Candidacy (7/2021)
• Ethical implications of multi organ transplants (1/2019)
• White paper on manipulating waitlist priority (1/2018)
• Living donation by persons with certain fatal diseases (7/2017)
• Ethical considerations of imminent death donation (8/2016)
• Ethics of deceased organ recovery white paper (8/2016)
• Split versus whole liver transplantation white paper (8/2016)

Committee members