[Comments on the Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement's standard code of practice entitled, "Donation of fetal...

Under the auspices of the Kwaliteitsinstituut voor de Gezondheidszorg CBO [Dutch Institute for Healthcare Improvement] a standard code of practice was developed as a template for local institutional codes to implement the Law on Foetal Tissue. It is a useful model code, but arguments should have been outlined more explicitly, notably in instances where the code adopts a somewhat stricter position than the Law. The following remarks pertain to the model code: 1. It may be argued that the inclusion or exclusion of 12-15-year-old pregnant girls should be relative to the privacy-related sensitivity of the use of foetal tissue. 2. Transplantation requires additional tests for the safety of the recipient, including testing for HIV/AIDS. A pregnant woman's permission for such testing should not be taken for granted. 3. The abortion technique may be modified in view of the subsequent use of foetal tissue if the woman consents to the modification, with the prerequisites that the modification does not harm the woman and that any potential sensation of pain by the foetus must be minimised.