Ethical issues concerning living donors: a European conference

ELPAT (it stands for Ethical, Legal and Psychosocial Aspects of Organ Transplantation) is organizing a conference on issues involving (chiefly) non-directed anonymous kidney donation in Brussels:

	ELPAT Specialty Update Symposium Living donor kidney exchange: Medical, Ethical, Legal, and Psychological Issues
Sunday, 13 September, 09:00 - 12:50
Moderated by: Annette Lennerling, Gothenburg, Sweden and Willem Weimar, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
	Antonia Cronin: "Is it unethical for doctors to encourage healthy adults to donate a kidney to a stranger" Antonia Cronin is Consultant Nephrologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the MRC Centre for Transplantation, King's College, London. She is chair of the British Transplantation Society Ethics Committee and appointed member of the UK Donation Ethics Committee. Her presentation will examine the legitimacy of allowing individuals to donate an organ to a stranger and explore the circumstances in which encouraging such a form of donation may be justified.
	Willij Zuidema: "Unspecified donors and domino-paired chains" Willij Zuidema is working at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. For years she is involved in the alternative living donation programs. Especially the program of the unspecified donors has her interest. The living donation program in Rotterdam is one of the largest in Europe with an expertise in unspecified donors and domino-paired chains. She will present the data and logistics of the unspecified donations and domino-paired transplants.
	Mihaela Frunza: "Acceptability of public solicitation, the role of social media" Mihaela Frunza is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania. She will present a presentation where public solicitation of organs is critically assessed from a legal, moral, and practical perspective. Several recommendations are discussed that aim at maximizing the organ donor pool while safeguarding the interests of potential living donors.
	Leonie Lopp: "The legal debate on anonymous donation" Leonie Lopp studied law in Münster, Germany. Afterwards, she wrote her doctoral thesis with the title "Regulations regarding Living Organ Donation in Europe - Possibilities of Harmonisation". She will today present the results of comparing the legal regulations on living organ donation in Europe by focusing on anonymous living organ donation.
	Hannah Maple: "Psychological outcomes after unspecified donation" Hannah Maple is a trainee Renal Transplant surgeon in London, United Kingdom. She will present an overview of the psychosocial issues pertinent to unspecified donation. Additionally she will discuss the results of her UK based study into psychosocial outcomes after unspecified donation.
	Linda Wright: "Ethical and practical issues of breaking anonymity" Linda Wright conducts research on transplantation ethics with the Canadian National Transplant Research Programme in Toronto, Canada. She will discuss the experience of contact between anonymous living donors and their recipients and recommend a strategy to address this, in the absence of evidence to support best practice.