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File Title:	Giving Something of Ourselves: A Message on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Download
Description:	February 2001 Two Catholic organizations --The Catholic Organization for Life and Family and the Catholic Health Association of Canada -- have come together to publish a leaflet entitled Giving Something of Ourselves to make better known the Catholic Church’s position on organ and tissue donations and transplantation. Pope John Paul II, speaking at the 18th International Congress of the Transplantation Society in August 2000, described the gift of an organ as a noble gesture “which is a genuine act of love. It is not just a matter of giving something that belongs to us but of giving something of ourselves.” The leaflet also examines the issues of xenotransplantation (the use of animal organs) and the cloning of human embryos. In the case of human embryos, both COLF and CHAC vigorously insist on Catholic teaching that states “the embryo is a human being and must be treated as a person.” The leaflet encourages people to talk to their family and friends about decisions to donate organs and tissues. It goes on to say that the decision to donate belongs to each individual and that “organ donation is not an obligation: it is an act of self-giving. It is a decision made freely, based on knowledge, clarity of mind and concern for the needs of others.”
File Size:	967.24Kb
File Type:	pdf
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