Organ transplants: ethical aspects

Abstract

In the first part of the article, the author deals with the problem of consent to taking organs from cadavers. He discusses the meaning and value of donating organs, the ethical aspect of the refusal to donate one's organs and the consent and/or refusal by the relatives. The second part deals with the problem of the determination of death and the third part presents some fundamental principles for an ethical evaluation of taking organs and tissue from human fetuses.