Lawmaker proposes death row organ donations

Sacramento Bee | Tim Talley 

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A state lawmaker calls his idea to give Oklahoma death row inmates the ability to donate their organs before execution a chance at redemption, but experts in the organ transplantation field say it is ethically unsound and goes against current medical practice.

Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, said he is developing legislation that would give a convicted murderer an opportunity to extend someone else's life. Dorman said the idea has been explored in some states around the country, but never instituted.

"It's Christian principles that if you can offer someone a chance of redemption, you should offer that opportunity," Dorman said of his proposed program, which would be voluntary.

But the organs would have to be harvested before the lethal dose of drugs renders them unusable, which would reverse the longstanding medical practice of only harvesting organs from bodies that have been declared legally dead, officials say.
______________________________________________________ 
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e here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/07/5890336/oklahoma-lawmaker-wants-death.html#storylink=cpy

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