ABSTRACT
The gap between demand and supply of organs continues to widen worldwide, encouraging transplant commercialism. While solid organ commerce is most prevalent in impoverished countries, commercialisation of body parts such as tissues is prevalent in economically developed countries. A number of international legal instruments and transplant societies define, condemn, and criminalise these practices and have issued statements related to organ commercialism. In contrast, limited attention has been paid to illicit and unethical activities associated with the procurement and clinical use of tissues. In India, The Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011, has taken multiple measures to combat organ and tissue commerce and as a result the number of such instances seems to be on the decline. However, the fight against unethical organ procurement through the internet and the social media is challenging and requires the cooperation of global bodies. Keywords: Organ trade, Declaration of Istanbul, tissue commerce, organ transplants, transplant tourism
ABSTRACT
Para tratar de manera urgente los problemas cada vez mayores de turismo de trasplantes y tráfico de los donantes de órganos ante la escasez mundial de órganos para trasplante, un Comité Directivo convocado en Dubai en diciembre de 2007 por la Sociedad de Trasplantes y la Sociedad Internacional de Nefrología, se hizo cargo del trabajo preparatorio para la reunión. El borrador de la declaración de dicho comité se divulgó y revisó de acuerdo con los comentarios formulados por más de 150 representantes convocados a esta reunión. La Declaración de Estambul se llevó a cabo del 30 de abril al 2 mayo de 2008; representa el consenso de los participantes, los cuales fueron seleccionados de acuerdo con las siguientes consideraciones: vínculos del país con la Sociedad de Trasplantes que representa prácticamente a todos los países con programas de trasplantes, representantes de sociedades internacionales y el Vaticano, personas con cargos directivos en nefrología y trasplantes, participantes en el ámbito de políticas públicas de trasplante de órganos, eticistas, antropólogos, sociólogos y especialistas en cuestiones jurídicas, de prestigio por sus publicaciones sobre la política y la práctica de los trasplantes.
A Summit Meeting that convened over 150 representatives of scientific and medical bodies from around the world was held in Istanbul from April 30 to May 2, 2008 to address the urgent and growing problem of organ sales, transplant tourism and trafficking in organ donors in the context of the global shortage of organs. Preparatory work for the meeting was undertaken by a Steering Committee convened by The Transplantation Society and the International Society of Nephrology in Dubai in December 2007. Participants at the Istanbul Summit were selected by the Steering Committee according to the following criteria: The country liaisons with The Transplantation Society representing virtually all countries with transplantation programs; representatives from international societies and the Vatican; key stakeholders in nephrology and transplantation; public policy experts in organ transplantation; and ethicists, anthropologists, sociologists, and legal academic well-recognized for their work on transplantation policy and practice. This Declaration represents the consensus of the Summit participants and is an authorized Spanish translation that will help disseminate this information among Mexican health professionals and interested readers.