TRANSPLANTATION REVIEWS

VOL 12, NO 3

Edi tori al

JULY 1998

W ith the exception of occasional Presidential Addresses and the like, there is little opportu-

nity for a physician or scientist to elucidate and discuss issues, problems, or the relevant philosophies of their particular subjects. Correctly, the majority of biomedical journals limit their acceptances to scien- tilic papers and occasional reviews or overviews. However, as disciplines develop, especially those involving clinical practice, rules change and ques- tions (often of an ethical or controversial nature) emerge as issues.

This has been especially true in a subject as dynamic as transplantation. Examples abound. The occasional baby is produced to be a bone marrow donor for an older sibling, the sale of organs is intermittently in the news, use of organs from ex- ecuted prisoners produces outrage in the transplant community; it has even been suggested recently that the execution of murderers be commuted to life sentences if they agree to be an organ or tissue donor. Many of these subjects pose questions that were hitherto undreamed of in earlier days.

An article by one of the editors has been included

in the present issue of Transplantation Reviews, the aim of which is to broach a subject little addressed in the relevant literature, namely a discussion of how to attenuate the demand for a consistently inadequate supply of organs. Several suggestions are presented, many of which are unlikely to be accepted by the transplant community. However, the paper is offered in an effort to open a dialogue about arguably the most important problem facing the field.

In the last few years, this journal has published several such position papers on a variety of controver- sial subjects. We have had only positive responses from readers. We hope that the type of discussion presented herein will not only stimulate others to comment as they see lit in publishable letters, but will provide incentive for other authors to present similar papers for debate and dialogue on diflicult subjects in transplantation.

Peter J. Morris, FRCS, PRS Nicholas L. Tilney, MD

Editors

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