The shortage of organs is such that a few bioethicists have begun to suggest payments to families of the deceased, a measure that has generally been rejected in most nations because it commodifies the human body. In parts of Asia, payments have led to an illegal traffic in human organs obtained by questionable means, including organs from living donors. The United States has rejected the concept of implied state ownership of bodies after death, followed by mandatory organ donation. Even in countries such as Austria, where cadaver donation appears mandatory unless the deceased has opted out before death, the family s wishes still rule, just as in the United States. Unless most families decide upon donation, it appears that most organs for transplantation will have to come from other sources.
Xenotransplantation has safety problems, however.
Animal infections could cross the species barrier into humans. Growing organs from human embryonic stem cells could avoid the ethical problems inherent in paying or legally coercing families to allow use of the deceased s organs, and could save thousands of lives a year. Bethesda, MD, Sept. 27, 1994. The Warnock Report on Human Fertilization and Embryology. New York, Basil Blackwell, 1985.