Profiteering threatens the altruism of tissue donation

摘要

Donating one's organs or tissues is considered one of the most altruistic acts of mankind. But laws governing organ donation in most developed countries are much stricter than those governing tissue donation, despite the popularly held view that the two processes are the same. Tissues donated include corneas, skin, bones, and heart valves: all vital for modern medicine, and tissue donation has an excellent safety record.Tissue donation came under the spotlight between 2005 and 2008, when several people in the USA were convicted of their involvement in illegally forging consent and harvesting tissues of deceased people.