Browsing by Author "Adawy, Nermine M."

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    Moral and Ethical Issues in Living-Donor Liver Transplant in Egypt
    (Başkent Üniversitesi, 2009-03) Adawy, Nermine M.; Helmy, Amr; Abdeldayem, Hesham M.; Allam, Naglaa A.; Salah, Essam; Aziz, Amr Mostafa; Kashkoush, Samy; Gad, Hisham
    Objectives: Since brain-death criteria are not accepted in Egypt, only organs acquired from living donors can be used for transplant. Our objective was to highlight the ethical issues raised by living-donor liver transplant. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted by reviewing publications from centers performing living-donor liver transplant in Egypt and by consulting with a group of experts in the fields of liver transplantation, clinical ethics, and religious scholarship. Results: The first successful living-donor liver transplant in Egypt was performed at the National Liver Institute in 1991; however, this program did not continue because of poor early results. In August 2002, transplants began at Dar-Al-Foaud Hospital; since then, almost 500 cases of living-donor liver transplant have been performed at 9 centers. Although the donor risk is estimated to be low, 2 donors died (0.4%). The ethical principle that best applies to living-donor liver transplant is primum non nocere (first, not to harm), as the donor derives emotional benefit from donation and the opportunity to save a life. It is important to stress that the alternative to living-donor liver transplant in Egypt is not deceased-donor liver transplant. There are no doubts that this is a beneficial procedure for the recipient with acceptable risks to the donor. Conclusions: It is ethically appropriate to perform liver transplant using living donors.