By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Canadian Blood services are promoting a documentary film that was created by Nova Scotia Health Services and the Canadian Blood Services to promote organ donation after euthanasia.
In the past Organ and Tissue donation services could claim that organ donation after euthanasia was only an option. Now that the documentary film–Her Last Project–is being promoted, clearly organ donation after euthanasia is being viewed as more than just an option.
Her Last Project is a documentary film about the (MAiD) euthanasia death of Halifax doctor, Shelly Sarwal, who was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy. Sarwal was the first person in Nova Scotia to die by euthanasia with the intention of donating her organs.
The website connected to the Canadian Blood Services, that is promoting the film, states that approximately 20% of the euthanasia deaths could be eligible for organ donation.
The 2022 Ontario euthanasia statistics indicated that there were 3,934 reported Ontario euthanasia deaths with 20 of those deaths followed by organ donation. The Canadian Blood Services is promoting Her Last Project in order to increase the rate of organ donation after euthanasia.
Linking euthanasia to organ donation is an ethical concern because euthanasia becomes promoted as a “good act” when it leads to organ donation.
Another concern with linking euthanasia to organ donation is because it leads to “ethics” journals debating the concept of euthanasia by organ donation. “Ethicists” are asking–why first kill the person by euthanasia and then remove the organs for donation when it is easier and more effective to remove the organs from a person who has consented to euthanasia.
The dead donor rule is being debated. The Uniform Determination of Death Act is currently being revised to make it easier to declare a person brain dead for organ donation. A new organ donation procedure, known as normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) appears to violate the dead donor rule.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition does not oppose organ donation but we are concerned that organ donation after euthanasia leads to euthanasia becoming a “good” act and it leads to euthanasia by organ donation.
Editor’s note. This appeared on Mr. Schadenberg’s blog and is reposted with permission.