Now is the time to end organ harvesting from “dead” donors...

Catholics are called to be at the forefront of defending human life–let’s stand together to protect this vulnerable population.

recent article in The New York Times (NYT) titled “A Push for More Organ Transplants Is Putting Donors at Risk” uncovered that 55 medical workers in 19 states “had witnessed at least one disturbing case of donation” using an organ harvesting technique called “donation after circulatory death” (DCD).

The article highlighted multiple cases of organ retrieval either beginning or nearly beginning on living patients, one of whom recalled feeling afraid while in the hospital.

The NYT quoted Dr. Wade Smith, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco, as stating: “I think these types of problems are happening much more than we know.”

In addition, the Health Resources and Services Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), reported in its recent article “HHS Finds Systemic Disregard for Sanctity of Life in Organ Transplant System” that in 351 cases where organ donation was authorized but ultimately not completed:

• 103 cases (29.3%) “showed concerning features, including 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation.”
• At least 28 patients (7.9%) may not have been dead at the time organ harvesting was initiated.

This disregard for patient safety was characterized as “clear negligence.”

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted on X “There have been massive ethical breaches in many organ transplant cases….” He wrote that some “dead” donors had blood pressure and heart rate elevation at the time of organ harvesting, indicating they could feel pain.

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