NHS denies reports women will be pressurised to have babies so their organs can be harvested.
NHS officials have emphatically denied reports suggesting that women carrying babies with fatal birth defects would be encouraged to bring the child to term so that doctors can harvest its organs.
Following discussions of ways to increase organ donations at the annual meeting of the British Transplantation Society in Glasgow, it was reported that the NHS was considering proposals that would see mothers “supported” to go ahead with the birth of children with non-survivable conditions.
Until recently, transplants were banned in children under the age of two months, but the rules were changed after it was proven that the organs of new-borns can make the difference between life and death – even for adults.
In a statement, a spokesman for NHS Blood and Transplant said parents would never be “pressured” or even approached to discuss the option of organ donation as opposed to abortion.
“NHS Blood and Transplant wants to reassure the public that we have no way of knowing about anyone who is pregnant with a baby that is unlikely to survive,” a statement read.
