TRANSPLANTATION IN THE HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM: FROM A BIOETHICAL DILEMMA TO AN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL CONCEPT

The development of transplantation in the second half of the XX and early XXI century marked a qualitatively new stage in the evolution of biomedical technologies and  at the same time posed a number of complex legal challenges requiring systemic intergovernmental regulation. For decades international legal regulation in this area evolved in a fragmented manner, reflecting disparities among legal systems, cultural traditions and national interests. Nevertheless, the international community has been gradually forming a stable understanding of the need to unify approaches to transplantation practices based on respect for human dignity, the primacy of human rights and the principle of inadmissibility of the commercial exploitation of the human body and its parts. Alongside its social and ethical dimensions, the transplantation of human organs, tissues and cells necessitates addressing fundamental issues of public international law, including the definition of the legal nature of transplantation, the development of common concepts and classifications of transplant objects and the correlation between transplantation and the right to health as a fundamental human right recognized in universal and regional instruments. The aim of this research is to identify and systematize key international legal issues arising in connection with the transplantation of human organs, tissues and cells, as well as to formulate a scientific task of developing a coherent international legal regulatory concept in this field. It is proposed that such a concept should be based on a balance between the sovereign interests of states and the need to ensure uniform standards of legal protection of individuals in the sphere of transplantation.