Donor Doctor Confirms Double Standards

26 March 2007

GiveLife New Zealand

Donor Doctor Confirms Double Standards

The doctor in charge of advising New Zealand's Organ Donor Service has admitted using double standards when it comes to an organ donors wishes, claims organ donor lobby group GiveLife NZ.

Last week, Dr. Peter Hicks, Chairman of the Organ Donation Advisory Board appeared in front of Parliament's Health Select Committee.

He confirmed the organ donor service's stance of going with the families wishes even if it meant going against the donors wishes.

However when asked by Committee Member, National MP, Jo Goodhew what would happen in the reverse position, i.e. the person did not want to be a donor but the family consensus was that the person should be a donor what would the doctors do? Dr. Hicks confirmed in those circumstances they would go with the deceased's wishes..... and not the family wishes.

GiveLife NZ Director, Andy Tookey said "Dr.Hicks's confirmation of the doctors going for a "negative' no matter where it comes from shows their double standards. His confirmation goes totally against every reason that the organ donor service says that they 'must go with the family wishes.'

One of the reasons the organ donor service gave to the select committee a few weeks ago was that a potential donor "isn't capable of making an 'informed consent decision's but the family are." He is now saying that the person 'can' now make an 'informed consent decision as long as it's only a "no" and not a "yes."

Mr. Tookey was also concerned when Dr.Hicks revealed to the select committee in his submission that a person can murder their partner or children and will then also be able to overturn the wishes of those they had just murdered. "Here we have a situation where someone hates another so much that they kill them and then they can have another pop at the victim and family by overturning the victims wishes."

*****ENDS*****

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