A controversial organ transplant bill expected to become law in the next few weeks could regularize organ transplants and curb Egypt’s booming illicit trade in human organs, experts say. (Reuters AlertNet)

The state health department has promised action against two hospitals in Coimbatore if they are proved guilty of trading in kidneys but most non-government organizations in the organ transplant sector are “unsure” if any action will be taken. (The Times of India)

On Valentine’s day two years ago, Paul Wagner, a 40-year-old Philadelphia purchasing manager, gave Gail Tomas, a total stranger, his left kidney. Wagner met Tomas, a 65-year-old former opera singer, on the internet, at MatchingDonors.com. Her daughter had posted an ad asking some magnificent stranger to save her mother. “It was there that I read about a lady in my city, Philadelphia, who was desperate for help,” Wagner said. “It has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.” This story had a happy ending. Yet it unfolded amid controversy over whether ethical norms were violated. (AEI)

PIG lungs could be transplanted into humans to overcome a shortage of donor organs after a Melbourne medical breakthrough. Scientists from The Alfred hospital have kept pig lungs alive and functioning with human blood, paving the way for animal-human transplants in as little as five years. (Herald Sun)

The health ministry plans to question Kanazawa University Hospital officials to clarify how unlicensed brokers approached doctors there to help patients receive organ transplants overseas. (The Japan Times)

Transplant International (Volume 23, Issue 2, February 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Faith Leaders United in Their Support for Organ Donation: Findings from the UK Organ Donation Taskforce Sudy” by Gurch Randhawa, Anna Brocklehurst, Ruth Pateman, Suzannah Kinsella, and Vivienne Parry; 140-146.
• “Living Donor Liver Transplantation Using a Left Hepatic Graft From a Donor with a History of Gastric Cancer Operation” by Hideaki Uchiyama, Mitsuo Shimada, Satoru Imura, Yuji Morine, Hirofumi Kanemura, Yusuke Arakawa, Mami Kanamoto, Masaaki Nishi, and Jun Hanaoka; 234-235.

Bioethics (Volume 24, Issue 2, February 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Are Recent Defences of the Brain Death Concept Adequate?” by Ari Joffe, 47-53.
• “Ethical Debate Over Organ Donation in the Context of Brain Death” by Mary Jiang Bresnahan and Kevin Mahler, 54-60.
• “Could a Zygote by a Human Being?” by John Burgess, 61-70.
• “Human Reproductive Cloning: A Conflict of Liberties” by Joyce C. Havstad, 71-77.
• “Living to the Bitter End? A Personalist Approach to Euthanasia in Persons with Severe Dementia” by Chris Gasmans and Jan De Lepeleire, 78-86.
• “Patient Autonomy, Assessment of Competence and Surrogate Decision-Making: A Call for Reasonableness in Deciding for Others” by KRISTINE BÆRØE, 87-95.

Spain led the world in organ donations in 2009 for the 18th consecutive year despite a sharp drop in road death fatalities, a key source of donated organs, Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez, said Monday. (AFP)

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (Volume 19, Issue 01, January 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Not Dead Yet: Controlled Non-Heart-Beating Organ Donation, Consent, and the Dead Donor Rule” by Dale Gardiner and Robert Sparrow, 17-26.
• “Just Caring: In Defense of Limited Age-Based Healthcare Rationing” by Leonard M. Fleck, 27-37.
• “Actualizable Potential, Reproduction, and Embryo Research: Bringing Embryos into Existence for Different Purposes or Not at All” by Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu, 51-60.
• “Consequentialism Without Consequences: Ethics and Embryo Research” by Sarah Chan and John Harris, 61-74.
• “Choosing Deafness with Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: An Ethical Way to Carry On a Cultural Bloodline?” by Silvia Camporesi, 86-96.
• “When is My Genetic Information Your Business? Biological, Emotional, and Financial Claims to Knowledge” by Ruth Wilkinson, 110-117.
• “Dignity: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Still Counting” by Doris Schroeder, 118-125.
• “Human Rights and Genetic Technologies” by D. Micah Hester and Alissa Swota, 126-127.
• “Human Rights and American Bioethics: Resistance is Futile” by George J. Annas, 133-141.

JAMA (Volume 302; Number 23; December 16, 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Health Insurance Cooperatives: Lessons from the Great Depression” by Michael R. Grey, 2587-2588.
• “The Global Breast Cancer Disparity: Strategies for Bridging the Gap” by Jonas A. Souza and José Bines, 2589-2590.
• “Mentoring: What’s In a Name?” by Dario Sambunjak and Ana Marusic, 2591-2592.
• “Late-Life Dementias: Does This Unyielding Global Challenge Require a Broader View?” by Thomas J. Montine and Eric B. Larson, 2593-2594.
• “Gene Therapy Repair of Donor Lungs Improves Outlook for Transplantation” by M.J. Friedrich, 2530.
• “Cord Blood Transplants” by Joan Stephenson, 2531.

It may still seem to be in the realm of science fiction, but nearly half of Americans believe cloning organs will be routine by 2020, according to a new poll. (Reuters)

Wales could become the first part of the UK introduce an opt-out system of organ donation under plans by the assembly government. It would mean that Welsh residents would be presumed to be organ donors unless they have joined an opt out register or immediate relatives object. (BBC)

The Israeli government deserves congratulation for its courage and innovation in adopting a radical new approach to the problem of organ transplantation.The shortage of organs available for transplant is a global problem and is getting worse. But its move pushes medicine across a new ethical frontier. (The Independent)

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council should have consulted the public before giving the green light to xenotransplantation, says a former member of the Council. (ABC Science)

According to the Alliance for Paired Donation, many people who need kidney transplants have family members or friends willing to give a kidney, only to find out that their blood and tissue are not compatible with their intended recipient. As of this week, 84,000 people are waiting for a kidney donation, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which keeps an updated list. But now through these so-called paired kidney donation programs, offered by hospitals that specialize in transplantation, people who otherwise would remain ill or on dialysis are getting a new lease on life. (CNN)

Part “Star Wars,” part human, each finger contains a motor smaller than a dime. Controlled by a small computer processor and powered by a tiny rechargeable battery, the prosthetics, called ProDigits, allow owners unheard of control over their hands. Electrodes placed against wearers’ arms sense when they contract certain muscles. Those small movements then drive the robotic fingers. (ABC News)

The Government’s peak health policy body has lifted a five-year ban on transplanting animal organs into humans. In 2004, the National Health and Medical Research Council banned clinical trials involving xenotransplantation - the medical use of animal body products in humans. (ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation))

Researchers say that a new method of bone marrow transplantation cured nine out of 10 adult patients with sickle cell disease, an inherited condition that causes bouts of severe pain, organ damage and sharply limits life expectancy. (Forbes)

A leading University of Michigan researcher said Tuesday the school now can accept private donations of unused human embryos for creating new stem cell lines. (The Associated Press)

Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 35, Number 12, December 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008: A Missed Opportunity?” by Amel Alghrani, 718-719.
• “Clinical Ethics: Genetic Selection for Deafness: The Views of Hearing Children or Deaf Adults” by C Mand, R E Duncan, L Gillam, V Collins, and M B Delatycki; 722-728.
• “Clinical Ethics: Medical Chaperoning at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia: Survey of Physicians” by E A Al-Gaai and M M Hammami, 729-732.
• “Clinical Ethics: Best Interests, Dementia and the Mental Capacity Act (2005)” by T Hope, A Slowther, and J Eccles; 733-738.
• “Ethics: Who Gets the Liver Transplant? The Use of Responsibility as the Tie Breaker” by V Thornton, 739-742.
• “Ethics: Can the Catholic Church Agree to Condom Use by HIV-discordant Couples?” by L Bovens, 743-746.
• “Ethics: Moral Pluralism Versus the Total View: Why Singer is Wrong About Radical Life Extension” by R Blackford, 747-752.
• “Research Ethics: The ‘How’ and ‘Whys’ of Research: Life Scientists’ Views of Accountability” by J M Ladd, M D Lappé, J B McCormick, A M Boyce, and M K Cho; 762-767.
• “Research Ethics: Embryonic Stem Cell Research is Not Dehumanising Us” by L Kostergaard, 774-777.
• “Does Bioethics Exist?” by L Turner, 778-780.

American Journal of Transplantation (Volume 9, Issue 12, December 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Race and Ethnicity in Access to and Outcomes of Liver Transplantation: A Critical Literature Review” by A. K. Mathur, C.J. Sonneday, and R.M. Merion; 2662-2668.
• “Impact of Medicare Coverage on Disparities in Access to Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplantation” by J. K. Melancon, L. M. Kucirka, L. E. Boulware, N. R. Powe, J. E. Locke, R. A. Montgomery, and D. L. Segev; 2785-2791.
• “Predictors of Having a Potential Live Donor: A Prospective Cohort Study of Kidney Transplant Candidates” by P. P. Reese, J. A. Shea, R. D. Bloom, J. S. Berns, R. Grossman, M. Joffe, A. Huverserian, and H. I. Feldman; 2792-2799.
• “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Mortality in Children Awaiting Heart Transplant in the United States” by T. P. Singh, K. Gauvreau, R. Thiagarajan, E. D. Blume, G. Piercey, and C. S. Almond; 2808-2815.
• “Reimbursing Live Organ Donors for Incurred Non-Medical Expenses: A Global Perspective on Policies and Programs” by M. Sickand, M. S. Cuerden, S. W. Klarenbach, A. O. Ojo, C. R. Parikh, N. Boudville, and A. X. Garg; 2825-2836.
• Book Review: “When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Kidney Donors” by D. W. Hanto, 2855-2855.