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attempting to commit, or aiding or abetting the commission of, any of these acts*.soliciting or recruiting donors or recipients, where carried out for financial gain or comparable advantage or.offering any undue advantage to, or requesting the same by, a healthcare professional, public official, or employee of a private sector entity to facilitate or perform such removal or use.any transportation, manipulation, transplantation or other use of such organs.removing organs from living or deceased donors without valid consent or authorisation or in exchange for financial gain or comparable advantage to the donor and/or a third person.The accompanying Commentary Paper explains and elaborates the text of the Declaration and suggests strategies for implementation. The results of the consultation process were presented, reviewed, and adopted as set forth in this document in Madrid in July 2018 during the International Congress of TTS.The Declaration should be read as a whole and each principle should be applied in light of all the other principles which are equally important.
#Definition of declaration update
Between February 2018 and May 2018, the DICG carried out a wide-ranging consultation, open to all interested parties, to update the Declaration in response to clinical, legal and social developments in the field. In 2010 TTS and ISN created the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG) to disseminate the Declaration and to respond to new challenges in organ trafficking and transplant tourism. These efforts have contributed to the considerable progress made in countries around the world since 2008.
#Definition of declaration professional
The Declaration thus complements efforts by professional societies, national health authorities, and inter-governmental organizations such as the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, and the Council of Europe to support the development of ethical programs for organ donation and transplantation, and to prevent organ trafficking and transplant tourism. It aims to provide ethical guidance for professionals and policymakers who share this goal.
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The Declaration of Istanbul expresses the determination of donation and transplant professionals and their colleagues in related fields that the benefits of transplantation be maximized and shared equitably with those in need, without reliance on unethical and exploitative practices that have harmed poor and powerless persons around the world. 151 participants-representatives of scientific and medical bodies, government officials, social scientists, and ethicists-reached consensus on the Declaration of Istanbul, which has been subsequently endorsed by more than 135 national and international medical societies and governmental bodies involved in organ transplantation.
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To address the urgent and growing problems posed by these unethical activities, the Transplantation Society (TTS) and the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) convened a Summit Meeting in Istanbul in April 2008. In 2007 it was estimated that up to 10% of transplants worldwide involved such practices. Yet these accomplishments have been tarnished by numerous instances of organ trafficking, of trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, and of patients who travel abroad to purchase organs from poor and vulnerable people. Countless acts of generosity by organ donors and their families, as well as the many important scientific and clinical advances achieved by dedicated health professionals, have made transplantation not only a life-saving therapy but a symbol of human solidarity.
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Organ transplantation, one of the greatest medical success stories of the twentieth century, has prolonged and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide.
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