(LifeSiteNews) — A concerning new study shows that liver transplants from euthanasia donors yield similar results as those from other donations, a finding that could increase pressure to euthanize vulnerable Canadians.
On October 26, the Journal of Hepatology published research comparing liver transplants in Canada from donations after circulatory death – a problematic method of organ donation – and from donations of those who were euthanized, in the latest study into increasing organ transplants from euthanasia or so-called “medical assistance in dying” (“MAID”) victims.
“Our study provides the first large-scale Canadian experience, paralleling previous studies from Belgium and the Netherlands, showing that outcomes are positive, while also demonstrating the real impact that MAiD donation can have on the availability of organs,” co-lead investigator A.M. James Shapiro declared.
“While not all individuals pursuing MAiD are suitable for donation for various reasons, we hope that our study will allow a better understanding of the potential role of organ donation following MAiD,” he continued.
Shapiro highlighted, in his view, “how impactful it can be for saving lives of many people in their final act of generosity.”
Canada is one of few countries, alongside Australia, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands, that harvests organs from euthanasia victims. Under the Liberal government, Canada has become the world leader in organ donations from people who obtained state-sanctioned euthanasia.
Recently, the interest in the practice has boomed, after the heart of a euthanized Canadian man was successfully harvested and donated to an American man with heart failure.
While many Canadians are left without necessary healthcare and even goaded to end their lives through euthanasia, the Liberal-run health system appears to prioritize the lucrative business of harvesting organs from Canadians killed off by their euthanasia regime.
According to some estimates, a heart is “worth around $1 million in the U.S. Livers come in second, about $557,000, and kidneys cost about $262,000 each. Not to speak about human skin ($10/inch), stomach ($500), and eyeballs ($1,500 each).”
Additionally, as LifeSiteNews has extensively covered, health officials have sounded the alarm over organs being harvested from still living patients in order to obtain fresh organs for transplants.
Similarly, conservative Irish think tank academic Dr. Angelo Bottone has warned against a push to harvest organs from euthanasia victims before they are killed.
“While donation after euthanasia is already happening in those countries, doctors are now discussing harvesting organs before euthanasia patients are declared dead, in order to preserve organ viability,” Bottone wrote.
“They propose that organs be removed under general anaesthesia before the patient is declared dead, thereby maintaining continuous blood circulation and oxygenation to the organs until the moment of retrieval,” the scholar continued. “This method could significantly improve the quality and quantity of organs available for transplantation.”
The most recent reports show that euthanasia is the sixth highest cause of death in Canada. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.
Asked why euthanasia was left off the list, the agency said that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.
According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by lethal euthanasia injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.
