Within Israel’s population only 10% of adults hold donor cards at present, Hence the stealing of organs from other less fortunate people, like kidnapped Palestinians and poor Americans by New Jersey Rabbis. Here’s the scoop:
link "Certainly, giving holders of donor cards priority in organ allocation sounds more acceptable than the introduction of organ conscription (ie, the proposed forced removal of organs from brain-dead patients without previous consent from the donor when still alive or from relatives) or financial incentives for organ donation (such as payment for funerals or tax incentives in cases of cadaveric organ donation or some financial reward in cases of living organ donation)."
An article published Online First and in The Lancet reports that a unique new law comes into effect in Israel in January 2010. It states that people who are prepared to sign donor cards themselves receive priority when they are in need of an organ transplant. In addition, increased priority is given to first degree relatives of those who have signed donor cards, to first degree relatives of those who have died and given organs, and to live donors of a kidney, liver lobe or lung lobe who have donated for as yet undesignated recipients. The article is the work of Professor Jacob Lavee, Director of the Heart Transplantation Unit, Sheba Medical Centre, Ramat Gan, and the Israel Transplant Centre, and colleagues.
When considering organ donation, Israel has a bad record. Only 10 percent of adults hold donor cards, compared to more than 30 percent in many Western countries. The consent rate for organ donation is defined as the proportion of actual donors of total number of medically eligible brain-dead donors. In Israel it has consistently been 45 percent during the past decade, much lower than the 70 to 90 percent consent rate in most western countries.
New legislation was needed since this meant using non-medical criteria in the organ allocation process. A massive public information campaign, in multiple languages and formats, is ongoing in order to educate the Israeli population on the new law.
The authors explain: "The Israeli policy applies to everyone with no exemptions, even to people who believe they should not donate organs because of religious beliefs11 or deeply held philosophical convictions.
During 2006, the Israel National Transplant Council (INTC) established a special committee because of these bleak national statistics. It was made up of ethicists, philosophers, lawyers, representatives of the main religions, transplant doctors, surgeons, and co-ordinators. After long discussions, they recommended to the INTC that any candidate for a transplant who had a donor card for at least three years before being listed as a candidate will be given priority in organ allocation. Regardless of the new law, patients in urgent need of a heart, lung, or liver transplant due to their serious condition will continue to receive priority. However, in the event that two such people are eligible for the same organ, their priority status under the new law would decide who receives the organ.
"If Israel's initiative of incentives for donation actually makes a difference by producing more organs for transplantation, it will be instructive. We wait to see."
