Vatican City, Nov 7, 2008 / 09:54 am
The Holy Father praised the generosity involved in the donation of organs or tissues and condemned the abuses in the transplant and trafficking of organs as he addressed an international congress on organ donation in Rome today.
Pope Benedict began his address to the conference entitled, “A Gift for Life. Considerations on Organ Donation.” by applauding the great advances of medical science in the realm of issue and organ transplants. Though these measures give hope to people who are suffering, he lamented the problem of a limited availability of organs, as evidenced “in the long waiting lists of many sick people whose only hopes of survival are linked to a minimal supply which in no way corresponds to effective need."