The ethics of liver transplantation from a living donor

To the Editor: We applaud the courage and ingenuity of the members of the transplantation group at the University of Chicago as they begin their pioneering exploration of liver transplantation from living related donors. This innovative procedure naturally raises ethical issues, and these have been carefully considered and discussed by Singer et al. in the Journal (Aug. 31 issue).¹ On the basis of the limited data available, we agree that “from the perspectives of both recipient and donor, the benefits outweigh the risks…” However, we have several concerns about the proposed criteria by which donors and recipients are to be.