Moral Questions Surrounding Human Organ Donations

Organ and tissue donations are considered to be acts of heroic charity.  Pope St. John Paul II, in his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) declared:  A particularly praiseworthy example of such heroic acts is the donation of organs performed in an ethically acceptable manner." (Paragraph 86)

For their part, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States have stated in their document, Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services: "Catholic health care institutions should encourage and provide means whereby those who wish to do so may arrange for the donation of their organs and bodily tissue, for ethically legitimate purposes, so that they may be used for donation and research after death." (Paragraph 63)

In those same directives, the Bishops state: "Such organs should not be removed until it has been medically determined that the patient has died.  In order to prevent any conflict of interest, the physician who determines death should not be a member of the transplant team." (Paragraph 64)

Insisting upon the Church's teaching that every life is to be revered and respected, the Bishops echo the concern of Pope St. John Paul II that organ donors not have their lives interrupted prematurely.  In his address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1989, the saintly Pontiff asked that the Academy, composed of renowned scientists from various medical disciplines, examine the issue and make recommendations.

Modern medical technology makes it possible for a person's heart and lungs to be kept functioning artificially.  In earlier times, death had been defined as the cessation of the heartbeat and respiration.  In light of the new technical advancements, a determination of death demands a more precise definition.  In other words, how does one determine the clinical death of a person on a ventilator?  From this consideration, there has arisen the definition of so-called "brain death" as the determination that death has truly taken place, permitting the removal of organs or bodily tissues for donation.

The Pontifical Academy presented the results of its research and concluded that "death occurs when there has been an irreversible cessation of all brain functions, even if cardiac and respiratory functions which would have ceased have been maintained artificially."

Of course, the question still remains regarding the manner in which such "brain death" is pronounced.  In some legal jurisdictions in the United States, two independent physicians who have not treated the patient nor are members of a transplant team must be called upon for such a clinical finding.  Specific procedures outlined in the laws are to be followed and various tests conducted to determine that the brain no longer has the capacity to coordinate the physical and mental functions of the body.

Catholics who wish to be organ donors upon their deaths perform a noble and praiseworthy act of selfless love.  Moreover, Catholic physicians may employ brain death criteria in determining death so that organs and tissues may be ethically and morally harvested for donation.

Certainly, Catholics should consult expert medical and legal professionals of their choice who are knowledgeable of and attentive to the medical and ethical teachings of the Church in the process of assisting them in their desire to be organ and tissue donors.