Ethical Views on the Issue of Organ Donation and Transplantation in Catholic Doctrine

Abstract

In countries in Europe and America with a predominance of Christians in the population, there is a higher level of organ donation. Although the issue of post mortem donation is not mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, the idea of selfless sacrifice is entirely in keeping with the Christian spirit. The Roman Catholic Church was the first to recognize organ donation and transplantation as morally acceptable and indicated that it encourages organ donation.The purpose of the work was to analyze the views set forth in the official documents of the Roman Catholic Church on the issues of ethics in organ donation and transplantation.Materials and methods. The provisions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Epistles of the Popes of Rome, the Code of Canon Law and other ethical documents on the acceptability of the technology of organ transplantation and postmortem donation, the principle of the presumption of consent, the legitimacy of the declaration of brain death, the condemnation of organ trafficking, the inadmissibility of discrimination in the allocation of organs, the admissibility of transplantation from living donors, donation from infants with anencephaly, xenotransplantation are analyzed.Conclusion. The presented work testifies to the fact that the Catholic position on organ donation and transplantation is well and deeply developed, based on respect for the dignity of a person and his right to choose, the encouragement of the voluntary act of donating one's organs as a gift extending beyond the border of life and death.