Organ transplantation. Speed and deliberation raise questions of trust

A double whammy of organ transplant stories hit the media within days of one another, giving the public plenty to mull over. Overall, the media's treatment seemed well-balanced. It sifted through the details of Mickey Mantle's speedy transplant of a new liver and declared the former slugger's shot for a new liver to be fair. On the other hand, the media called foul the latest report by the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA), which recommends the use of anencephalic neonates as organ donors. These stories served as a convenient and appropriate backdrop to a June 9-10 Chicago conference on ethical, legal, and policy issues of organ and tissue donation sponsored by the Department of Medical Humanities at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and the Live and Learn Organ Donation and Awareness Program of the Illinois Secretary of State. The following articles summarize the Mantle episode, the CEJA policy, and various presentations at the conference that emphasized the development of new frameworks to consider for increasing the nation's organ supply.