After a rigorous peer review, Kidneys for Communities presented at the 14th World Conference on Bioethics, Medical Ethics, and Health Law on March 8, in Portugal.
Atul Agnihotri, CEO of Kidneys for Communities, and Co-Founder Ira Brody presented “Utilizing Personal Affinity and Identification to Increase Living Kidney Donation” during the Organ Transplantation II session. Dr. Otmar Kloiber, Secretary-General of the World Medical Association, was in attendance along with the world’s leading ethicists, human rights lawyers, medical experts and health law practitioners.
After Agnihotri’s and Brody’s presentation, session attendees acknowledged that of those considering kidney donation, there is a higher probability that their donation will be within affinity groups and communities. Following the post-presentation dialogue, the consensus among attendees is that living kidney donation is the most desirable solution for patients needing kidneys and that all ethical possibilities should be explored.
Fellow Transplant II session presenters included: Living Organ Donation: Young Donors; Kidney “Voucher,” Euthanasia Candidate as a Living Organ Donator; Ethics and the International Dimension of Organ Trafficking; Uterus Transplants in Europe: Ethical and Regulatory Implications; and Education on Organ Donation and Transplantation: Ethical Dilemmas.
The World Conference on Bioethics, Medical Ethics, and Health Law is a global platform for exchanging information and knowledge through discussions, lectures, workshops, and presentations. Hosting participants from professional and academic disciplines, the conference considers scientific discourse on more than 60 topics and subtopics in the fields of bioethics, medical ethics, and health law.
“It is not one person or one organization that will solve the living kidney donor shortage; it takes all of us,” Agnihotri said. “Open dialogue, debate and collaboration, on a global platform, moves us toward ethical solutions that increase the living kidney donor pool, potentially saving thousands of lives. We are encouraged by our esteemed colleagues’ support to move forward and explore how to apply Kidneys for Communities’ program to help others, around the world, who are in need of a kidney transplant.”
Read more about Kidneys for Communities’ role at this global event here.