Memorandum by College of Health Care Chaplains
(CHCC)
I am pleased to submit comments to the above
Inquiry on behalf of the College of Health Care Chaplains. In
order to appreciate the context from which these comments come
it may be helpful to know that the College is a one thousand member
professional association within the Health Sector of Unite the
Union. It provides both representation for individual chaplains
and also resources the professional development of chaplaincy
across the UK. A small number of CHCC members now also work as
Independent Assessors for organ donation. The College advised
UK Transplant on the content of its advice leaflet containing
different faith perspectives on the issue of transplantation.
1. The College supports the increasing use
of organ donation and transplantation from all sections of the
community in order to improve and extend the lives of others.
2. Great care is required in order to exclude
any donation which does not arise from proper motivation. Chaplains
are keen to engage with this work, but in the light of cuts to
chaplaincy services across the NHS it is unclear whether practical
support can be sustained.
3. We support increased publicity around
donation and transplantation which allow all members of the public
to make informed choices about their bodies both while alive and
after death.
4. We do not support "presumed consent"
approaches to donation and transplantation. Donation must be informed
and arise from a positive choice. Whatever safeguards may be applied
to "presumed consent" there would inevitably be cases
where spiritual distress would be caused to relatives and friends
of the deceased when their views had not been stated before death.
This would be a very strong feeling in some religious communities.
5. Hospital chaplains had significant experience
during the lifetime of the Retained Organs Commission of disparities
between the views of health professionals and those of relatives.
The importance of the body should not be underestimated. It has
been the way in which the deceased has been known, and the dignity
of the deceased continues to be associated with their physical
remains. While not all people feel the same way, chaplains know
that the removal of tissue without explicit consent either in
life or death can cause major trauma.
6. The College believes that people have
the right to be buried or cremated intact unless they have clearly
expressed their agreement to organ removal.
5 October 2007
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