SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A death row inmate's request that his execution next week be delayed so he can be an organ donor for his ailing sister isn't the first time a condemned man has tried to donate an organ.
In fact, other death row inmates have been organ donors. And in one case, an inmate was granted a last-minute stay of execution in the hope of saving his dying brother with a transplant.
But the issue of a condemned inmate donating an organ does raise ethical concerns.
In this case, Gregory Scott Johnson, scheduled to die by chemical injection early Wednesday for the murder of an elderly woman two decades ago, has asked the state parole board to delay his execution. He says he wants to donate a portion of his liver to save his sister, who needs a transplant.
The board is set to consider his request for clemency on Friday, and board members won't comment before the hearing. The panel's recommendation will go to Gov. Mitch Daniels, who also hasn't revealed his position on the matter.
No tests have been done to see if Johnson would even be a compatible donor for his sister, Debra Otis.
But the case reopens an old debate about the ethics of accepting organs from condemned inmates. The issue is whether someone in prison can give informed consent, said Dr. Mark Fox, chairman for the ethics committee for the United Network for Organ Sharing, a private group that runs the nation's transplant system.
"Their lives are constrained in ways that yours and mine are not," he said. "Free, informed consent involves the freedom to either to accept or to reject treatments that are being proposed."
Fox said the fact that the donation could prolong his own life could compromise an inmate's decision-making ability.
There also is a concern that Johnson's sister could feel pressured to accept the partial liver from her brother, rather than a full liver from someone who has died, because it might be the only way to extend her brother's life.
"Neither of them may feel they have the complete freedom to make the decision that is appropriate for them," Fox said.
Debra Otis, 48, suffering from non-alcoholic cirrhosis, told NBC's Today show this week that she wants the transplant from her brother. She didn't return calls from The Associated Press.
