Philadelphia, April 21, 2022 – A team of researchers at Western University 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 the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, Western University bioethicist Charles Weijer, MD, PhD, 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Canadian provinces and territories, preventing families of deceased donors from identifying their beneficiaries is outdated and unfair.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both in Canada and internationally are realizing that restrictive approaches to donor family and recipient contact are outdated and unfairly limit the autonomy of mutually consenting stakeholders," said Weijer, a professor at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Western University's department of philosophy. "It is time for all Canadian provinces and territories to address this new reality."
