This act shows great love and compassion when one pledges their organs for others who are in need. Organ donation can be done from either a living person or a cadaver to a living recipient in a process known as organ transplantation. Regardless of the fact that organ donation for organ transplant enhances the quality of many lives, ethical and legal aspects must always be considered, especially in the case where cadaver organ transplantation is involved. [1]
In Malaysia, the recipient of cadaver organ donation is dependent on the needs and the results of histocompatibility laboratory tests to prevent illegal organ trafficking. According to the Code of Medical Ethics, under section II – Ethical Obligation of Doctors to the Patient (13.Transplantation), any details regarding organ transplantation including the objective of
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Family consent is still needed in the case of registered or non-registered donors. Therefore, in the case study given involving cadaver donation, even though it is unknown that whether the 55-year-old deceased man is a registered organ donor, the final decision will always be based on the consent from his family for organ removal. The fact that consents from both donor and their next of kin are required suggests that the donor’s relatives are able to overrule the decision of the donor. This opposed decision is normally due to their personal, cultural and religious beliefs. Regarding this matter, the public is still clueless whether the printed donor card can be considered as donor’s consent, such as in the understanding of the establishment under the Human Tissue Act 1974.