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Updated: May 22, 2025
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Normothermic Ex Vivo Kidney Perfusion for the Preservation of Kidney Grafts prior to Transplantation
Published on: July 15, 2015
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Living kidney donation from a death row inmate
Michael J Moritz1, John S Radomski2, Cary E Moritz3
1Transplant Pregnancy Registry International, Gift of Life Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Summary
Living kidney donation from death row inmates is feasible. This report details ethical, legal, and medical considerations for prisoner organ donation, encouraging broader inmate donation programs.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Transplantation
- Bioethics
Background:
- Organ donation is critical, yet donor shortages persist.
- Prisoner organ donation presents unique ethical, legal, and medical challenges.
- Previous experiences with prisoner donation are limited, especially concerning death row inmates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the feasibility of living kidney donation from death row inmates.
- To outline the ethical, legal, medical, and logistical considerations for prisoner organ donation.
- To inform and encourage organ donation from the general prison population.
Main Methods:
- Case report and ethical analysis.
- Review of legal and medical protocols for organ donation.
- Discussion of logistical challenges in a correctional setting.
Main Results:
- Living kidney donation from a death row inmate is medically and ethically possible.
- Key hurdles in prisoner organ donation can be successfully navigated.
- The experience provides a model for future prisoner donation initiatives.
Conclusions:
- Death row inmates can be considered viable living organ donors.
- Addressing ethical, logistical, and medical concerns enables prisoner donation.
- This case should promote organ donation from the wider prison population.
