Guide to Safety and Quality Assurance for the Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells

Organ transplantation is in many cases the only available treatment for end-organ failure. The transplantation of tissues and cells offers major therapeutic benefits and improvement of the quality of life, but raises a number of questions of principle. The Council of Europe is the leading standard-setting institution in the field. It approaches organ transplantation from an ethical and human rights perspective, taking compliance with the principles of non-commercialization and voluntary donation of substances of human origin as the basis for all ethical concerns in this respect. Its work includes assuring the safety and quality of organs, tissues and cells, meeting the organ shortage, living donation and preventing and minimizing organ trafficking. This is the 3rd edition of the guide, which applies to the transplantation of organs, tissues and cells of human origin for therapeutic purposes. Its aim is to provide guidance for all those involved in order to maxim