2018, Number 1
The culture of denunciation in the prevention of organ trafficking in the national territory
Cantú-Quintanilla GR, Reyes-Acevedo R, Gracida-Juárez C, Medeiros-Domingo M, Mendoza-Sánchez F, Alberú-Gómez J, Durán-Lizárraga Y, Barragán-Sánchez A
Full text
Language: Spanish
References: 10
Page: 18-24
PDF size: 207.54 Kb.
ABSTRACT
Background: Having to denounce an illicit act committed by one’s own organization is a dramatic way of viewing a conflict of accountabilities that should be harmonized. On the one hand, one has a job acquired with no little effort. There are people working there who deserve all our respect and consideration. But, on the other hand, when an action is not ethically correct, there is an obligation to denounce. When a transplant team is obtaining illegal benefits through organ availability and allocation, it does not only damage itself through that dishonest practice, but it also stains the image of all people working in the sector by provoking mistrust, giving a distorted image different from reality at the local and national levels, and, what is more serious, affecting patients who are waiting, trusting a fair organ allocation system. There is not a culture of denunciation in our milieu. Occasionally and sporadically, there are news about abuses in the allocation of organs for transplantation. Sometimes, these news get to the media, resulting in a discredit of a professional guild that in many occasions works in a selfless and persevering way for the community’s benefit. Objective: To survey the denunciation culture among health care personnel linked to transplantation in nephrology. Material and methods: A survey was applied to participants in the yearly meeting of the Instituto Mexicano de Investigaciones Nefrológicas (IMIN), and social-demographic data on their field and type of work were obtained, as well as the sector where these people work, years of experience and membership in a transplant committee; eight questions on denunciation culture in their working environment were also included. Results: 88 surveys were made, with the following percentages per field of work: medicine, 82%; nursing, 10%; clinical work, 65%; research and clinical, 19%; in the public sector, 43%, in the private sector, 22%; in both sectors, 35%; average experience time: 8.5 years; 36% are members of a transplant committee; 77% think that denunciation is required in case of organ trafficking; 81% think that denunciation could limit organ-trafficking abuses; 28% have known about a denunciation for organ trafficking; 80% think that there could be a progress in denunciation culture. Actions regarded by participants as very important were: for 78%, motivation of denunciation culture; for 81%, continued bioethical education; for 80%, diffusion of laws currently in force on the subject; for 75%, heavier penalties for illicit acts; for 76%, surveillance and control. Among factors unfavorable to denunciation culture, the following were regarded as frequent: for 73% of the participants, lack of time; for 93%, lack of evidence; for 93%, unwillingness to have problems; for 93%, «it can happen to anybody»; 62% think that judging in somebody else’s trial is bothersome. Conclusion: There is no denunciation culture in Mexico regarding organ traffic. Education in bioethics as an emerging discipline could facilitate such a task.REFERENCES