ISHLT Statement on Transplant Ethics

Published 23 July 2026

The ISHLT Ethics Committee: Olivia Kates, MD, MA; David Bearl, MD, MA; John Dark, MB, FRCS, ISHLTF; Kavita Dave, FRCP, MBBS; Savitri Fedson, MD, MA; Edward Garrity, MD; Tomoko Kato, MD, PhD; Cecilia Nucci, RN, BSN; Brian Wayda, MD, MPH; Barbara Wilkey, BSN, MPAS, MD, ISHLTF.

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Transplantation is ethically complex, and Ethics Committees composed of panels of experts play a vital role in advancing the field to its fullest potential. The most urgent questions continue to evolve and attract the focus of Ethics Committees seeking to chart an ethically-drive course for the future of transplantation.

With this Statement on Transplant Ethics, the Ethics Committee of the ISHLT elaborates the fundamental ethical values pertinent to transplantation that the ISHLT and its constituents should strive to uphold and offers procedural considerations to support the application of these principles. This Statement updates and expands upon previously published Ethics Statements of the ISHLT, in accordance with the commitment to regular review.

The ISHLT also continues to uphold precedent standards including The Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism, The Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association (WMA), The WMA Statement on Organ and Tissue Donation, the WMA Resolution on Organ Donation in Prisoners as amended and adopted in 2024, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.

Read the Implementation Framework