REAFFIRMING THE PRINCIPLES OF LIVING DONATION WHILE SHOWING PRAGMATISM: THE LEGAL EXTENSION OF CROSS-OVER ORGAN DONATION TO FACILITATE TRANSPLANTATION

Abstract

The new French bioethical legislation does not introduce any major changes in the area of organ transplantation. It does, however, facilitate the implementation of cross-over donation programs by increasing the number of living donor/recipient pairs eligible to participate in the program. By setting the number of pairs at six, the law is likely to allow this promising transplant program to take off. In order to mitigate the risk of a donor withdrawing and to facilitate the matching, the legislator has chosen to integrate a deceased donor organ to initiate the cross-donation program. This pragmatic choice reflects the hybrid regime of cross-over donation, since the legislator, while reaffirming the attachment to the principles of living donation, borrows from the logic of post-mortem donation.