英國擬現金獎勵器官捐獻

Britons are being asked if people should get cash incentives to donate eggs and sperm, and whether the funeral expenses of organ donors should be paid in a bid to address a severe shortage.

The medical ethics think-tank, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a public consultation to look at whether people think it is right that donors should receive payments or other incentives to meet a growing demand. Currently, paying people to donate most organs, beyond Offering modest expenses, is illegal in Britain.

About 8,000 people need an organ transplant in Britain each year and hundreds die waiting for a suitable donor. The organ shortage has forced many to seek treatment overseas. A change in the law in 2005, which removed donors' right to anonymity has led to a sharp fall in the number of donations.

Britain has one of the lowest rates of organ donation, at just 13 per million of population compared with 35 per million in Spain where a "presumed consent" system operates, which effectively make everyone a potential donor unless they choose to opt out.

Professor Marilyn Strathern, chairman of the Council's inquiry into the issue, said: "We could try to increase the number of organ donors by providing stronger incentives, such as cash, paying funeral costs or priority for an organ in future, but would this be ethical?"

The Council said incentives could be non-financial, such as offering letters of thanks, T-shirts, mugs or vouchers, or allowing future donors to jump the queue for transplants should they later need one.

"We also need to think about the morality of pressing people to donate their bodily material," Strathern said. "Offering payment or other incentives may encourage people to take risks or go against their beliefs in a way they would not have otherwise done."

In 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would not rule out bringing in a "presumed consent" plan for organ donation. However the Organ Donation Taskforce said that evidence from across the world indicated that such a plan would not improve donation rates.

In January, a study by fertility experts found that a drastic lack of sperm donors meant women wanting babies were resorting to importing semen from abroad or using do-it-yourself insemination kits bought on the Internet.

日前，英國開展了一項有關器官捐獻的調查。該調查旨在瞭解公衆對於卵子和精子捐獻者是否應獲得現金獎勵以及是否應爲器官捐獻者支付葬禮費用等問題的看法，以解決該國器官捐獻嚴重短缺的狀況。

英國醫學倫理智囊機構紐菲爾德生命倫理委員會日前發起了一項公衆徵詢活動，調查英國民衆如何看待用現金補償及其它激勵方式鼓勵人們捐獻器官以滿足不斷增長的需求。目前在英國，在支付必要合理的費用之外，花錢進行器官交易的做法是違法的。

英國每年約有八千人需要接受器官移植，很多人因等不到合適的捐獻者而死去。器官短缺迫使很多人去國外就醫。2005年的一項取消捐獻者匿名權的法案更是讓器官捐獻人數大幅減少。

英國是全世界器官捐獻率最低的國家，100萬人中僅有13人捐獻，而在西班牙，每100萬人有35人捐獻。西班牙實行的是一套“假定同意”的器官捐贈制度，有效地保證每個人都是潛在的捐獻者，除非你提出不同意捐獻。

紐菲爾德生命倫理委員會器官捐獻調查小組主席瑪麗蓮•斯特拉斯恩教授說：“我們可以通過採用現金獎勵、支付葬禮費用或讓捐獻人獲得器官移植優先權等更爲強有力的激勵手段來鼓勵器官捐獻，但這樣做是否合乎倫理呢？”

該機構稱，除金錢激勵方式外，還可採用發感謝信、贈送T恤、水杯或購物券以及讓捐獻人獲得器官移植優先權等非經濟刺激方式。

斯特拉斯恩說：“我們還要考慮鼓勵人們捐贈身體器官是否符合道德標準。提供補貼及其它激勵方式可能會讓人們去冒險行事或違背自己的信仰去做自己本不願意做的事。”

英國首相戈登•布朗於2008年表示，不排除政府會採用“假定同意”器官捐獻方案的可能。然而器官捐獻調查小組稱，世界上其他國家的證據表明這樣的方案並不能有效提高捐獻率。

今年1月，生育專家開展的一項研究發現，由於極度缺乏精子捐獻者，想要孩子的女性不得不去國外找精子，或者從網上購買“自助式”人工授精工具自行解決。