Polish Episcopal Conference issues ethical guidelines on organ transplantation

The Bioethics Expert Team of the Polish Episcopal Conference has released a position statement regarding organ transplantation, framing organ donation as a noble act of love for one's neighbor and a pro-social stance. The document emphasizes that while medical advancements can present certain ethical risks, they largely serve to meet fundamental human needs for health and life.

Key ethical principles outlined by the team include respecting the will of the deceased or their relatives, avoiding any form of coercion or pressure on donors, and strictly adhering to medical criteria for diagnosing brain death and assessing transplant success. The statement also highlights the importance of weighing risks to living donors against benefits to recipients.

The Church explicitly opposes the use of human embryos or living fetuses as sources for organs or tissues, as well as any practice of accelerating death to obtain transplants. The experts noted that the current shortage of organs, tissues, and cells remains a significant barrier to saving lives, especially until technologies like xenotransplantation or artificial organs become widely available.