Children as Tissue Donors: Regulatory Protection, Medical Ethics, and Practice

by Shih-Ning Then

Overview

This book examines the position of children who provide tissue to potentially save the life of another. It questions whether child donors of all ages have been treated appropriately and whether they are sufficiently protected in acting as tissue donors, and ultimately considers whether a new regulatory response is needed to benefit donor children.

The book couples a legal exposition of the donor child’s position with the medico-ethical reality of clinical practice. In recent years, a growing body of literature concerning the clinical experiences and outcomes for child donors has emerged. This book adds to this by examining another dimension – the regulatory frameworks at play. It examines the ethical arguments for and against children acting as tissue donors and provides an original analysis of the legal and non-legal regulatory frameworks governing children’s participation in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. It combines these doctrinal and theoretical approaches with insights into clinical practice gained from the results of qualitative research conducted with health professionals.

The analysis inevitably explores the more general issues of children’s right to make medical decisions, the role of parents in decision-making, the value of the best interests test and alternative (legal and ethical) standards, rights of participation of children before the courts, and the role of law and other forms of regulation in a clinical context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811348143
Publisher:	Springer Nature Singapore
Publication date:	12/22/2018
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2018
Pages:	245
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Shih-Ning Then is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law and a member of the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at Queensland University of Technology. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of health law and ethics. Her research interests include issues in healthcare faced by groups traditionally considered as vulnerable in society who have often been denied a ‘voice’, including children and adults with decision-making difficulties. Shih-Ning is an interdisciplinary scholar who works with clinicians, ethicists and social scientists in her research. She is the recipient of competitive grant funding and is currently a member of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council’s Organ and Tissue Working Committee.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The Ethics of Children Donating Tissue to Another.- Chapter 3: Ethical Frameworks and Their Influence on Practice.- Chapter 4: Regulation of Child Tissue Donors in the United Kingdom.- Chapter 5: Regulation of Child Tissue Donors in Australia.- Chapter 6: Regulation of Child Tissue Donors in the United States.- Chapter 7: Medical Professionals’ Views on Legal and Non-Legal Forms of Regulation.- Chapter 8: Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

This is an excellent introductory book. It is written at a high enough level to be helpful to medical professionals, while parts of it are still accessible to families who may have concerns about child tissue donation. It provides important information from the perspective of healthcare workers and is most appropriate for those with a medical background.” (Sarah K. Sawicki, Doody's Book Reviews, April 26, 2019)

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Sarah K. Sawicki, M.A. Bioethics(Saint Louis University)
Description: This book focuses on the ethical, legal, and regulatory concerns surrounding underage hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) donors by using a framework that puts the best interests and the rights of the donor child at the center of discussion. This is supplemented by qualitative studies and analyses of existing regulations from the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
Purpose: This book addresses the current body of knowledge regarding children as tissue donors and adds to it by examining the existing frameworks in three major countries. It offers an alternative framework for regulatory policies that seeks to reorient attention on donor children, which is a necessary addition to the current literature. The author succeeds in proposing regulations that are practical and likely to create positive change in the area of children as tissue donors.
Audience: The audience is clinicians, families and donors, hospital administrators, policymakers, and law reformers. However, this book may not be as accessible to the general public as it is to medical professionals or students due to its technical nature. Those with an interest in the subject will still appreciate the book. The author is knowledgeable and respected in this field.
Features: This book tackles ethical and legal questions about donation, qualitative research, and current practices in three different countries. The authors does a particularly good job succinctly articulating this relatively common practice in healthcare, raises concerns, and provides helpful suggestions for dealing with complex issues in a way that prioritizes the donor child. The proposals are practical and reasonable but may leave readers with unanswered questions, such as how to adjudicate conflicts between the donor child and family members. This quality is both a strength and a weakness, as it leaves room for much needed flexibility, but it may not provide the concrete guidance some readers desire.
Assessment: This is an excellent introductory book. It is written at a high enough level to be helpful to medical professionals, while parts of it are still accessible to families who may have concerns about child tissue donation. It provides important information from the perspective of healthcare workers and is most appropriate for those with a medical background.

Doody's Review Service