Patients, families, and organ donation: Who should decide?

Although 69 to 75 percent of U.S. adults say they would be willing to becom e organ donors, half of the families that are asked to consider donating th e organs of a deceased family member refuse to consent. This discrepancy is most noticeable when the refusal of a family conflicts with the known wish es of a patient. It: is the practice of nearly all organ procurement organi zations in the United states not to procure organs or tissue when families refuse, even if the patient's wishes have been documented. Recently, the Ce nter for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) adopted a controversial policy of acting on the documented wishes of individuals ro donate, independent o f family consent. An examination of the moral and political issues raised b y this policy lead to the conclusion that the CORE policy is not only justi fied, but morally required.