The legislation on living organ donation in Western Europe: legal and ethical analysis and impact on clinical practice

Abstract

In Europe there are various directives on living organ donation (LOD) that are applied differently in member countries. The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to identify the most relevant normative differences among the countries of Western Europe, and (2) to evaluate the evolution of LOD data in these countries. We performed comparative analysis of national legislations to identify the most significant common and different regulatory elements that were evaluated subsequently from an ethical-legal point of view. For data analysis on LOD, we used the EULOD database of donations in Europe. Relevant legislative differences emerged among European countries. Through legal and ethical analysis, it has possible to delineate two legal guidelines: on the one hand, based primarily on informed consent applying the principle of individual autonomy, and on the other hand, informed consent associated with legal and medical criteria. From 1992 to 2009, countries with standards based primarily on individual informed consent showed an increase in LOD from 5.5% to 25.3%, which was greater than those in countries that had additional legal requirements, namely, from 1.6% to 16.0.%. The distinct transpositions of the European Directives among singles countries related to LOD are based essentially only on the request for informed consent or for additional medical and legal requirements. The former practices which increases LOD, can facilitate "organ tourism."