Looking at the ethical issues of transplants

Every day, tens of thousands of ordinary people desperately hold onto hope that an organ or tissue transplant will save their lives. Most people on the waiting lists, however, die before transplants become available.

While replacing human organs and tissues offers hope for renewing and extending life, the issue of transplants also raises a variety of concerns.

A number of those concerns, including selecting recipients, funding and soliciting donors, will be discussed during the 6th Annual Health Ethics Conference, "Ethical Issues in Organ, Tissue and Cell Transplants." Wichita State University, Kansas Health Ethics and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita sponsor the two-day conference March 7-8. It will be held at the Hyatt Regency Wichita, 400 W. Waterman.

Two prominent speakers in the national transplant debate will be featured at the conference. Physician/ethicist Dr. Stuart Youngner will talk about how human lives are made new again by the miracles of modern science and the ethical concerns in acquiring and allocating scarce organs. Judith Swazey, a historian of science and medicine, will focus on social, ethical and policy issues of the "spare parts" in society.

Dr. Thomas Estep, a Wichita cardiac transplant surgeon, will offer a local perspective.

For a complete schedule of the conference, contact Kansas Health Ethics Inc., 684-1991. To register, call the UKSM-Wichita, 293-3401. The conference fee for both days is $45 or $80 for continuing education credit. Single-day rates also are available. After March 1, a $10 fee will be added.

The conference is supported by grants from the Earl L. Mills Educational Trust, Via Christi Health System, Wesley Medical Center, the Lloyd Hummer Lectureship, Hospice Inc., Inter-Faith Ministries, Midwest Transplant Network, Wesley Medical Research Institutes, Roy C. House Fund, the Wichita Clinic, Wichita Eye Foundation and Sedgwick County Medical Society, Medical Review Foundation.