Letters
Protocol balanced ethical principles
EDITOR,--I was the chairman of the working party that drew up the Exeter protocol for organ retrieval. The original protocol did not use the term "elective ventilation" because of the confusion this would cause. Last October the Department of Health issued guidance that the protocol was unlawful.1 In view of the protocol's success in increasing the number of kidneys available for donation it is not surprising that Hany Riad and Anthony Nicholls have defended it vigorously and are pressing for a change in the law.2 When the original protocol was drafted we recognised that for any medical intervention to be lawful it had to be for the patient's benefit. However, the case of F v West Berkshire Health Authority had not occurred,3 and we believed that the consent of the next of kin under the specific circumstances with which we were concerned was adequate.
Careful consideration was given to the
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