Ethics and Organ Donation
Ethics Analysis Paper
Ethical Issues Related to Organ Donations
In 1983 Dr H Barry Jacobs, a physician from Virginia, whose medical license had been revoked after a conviction for Medicare mail-fraud, founded International Kidney Exchange, Ltd. He sent a brochure to 7,500 American hospitals offering to broker contracts between patients with end-stage-renal-disease and persons willing to sell one kidney. His enterprise never got off the ground, but Dr Jacobs did spark an ethical debate that resulted in hearings before a congressional committee headed by Albert Gore, Jr., then a representative from the state of Tennessee. The offensive proposal for kidney sales led to the National Organ Transplant Act to become law in the United States in 1984. An ethical consensus developed around the world that there should be no monetary compensation for transplantable organs, either from living or deceased persons. Unfortunately, the altruistic supply of organs has been much less than adequate, and thousands of patients die each year waiting for organ transplantation. As the number of patients who die waiting for organ transplants continues to rise, more families are taking the quest for an organ into their own hands, and raising tough ethical questions in the process. In July, 2004 Todd Krampitz, 32, of Houston, Texas received a liver transplant after publicizing his plight through billboards, e-mails, a Web site and an extensive media campaign. He suffered from a liver cancer so extensive that it was unlikely he would ever rise to the top of the waiting list for an organ. Left with no alternative, Krampitz 's friends and family publicized his predicament and asked people to donate specifically to him if they or if they had a loved one who died. In August, 2004 a donor family requested that their dying relative 's liver go to Krampitz. Nine months after receiving his transplant, Krampitz died. Called a directed donation, these donations are both
Ethical Issues Related to Organ Donations
In 1983 Dr H Barry Jacobs, a physician from Virginia, whose medical license had been revoked after a conviction for Medicare mail-fraud, founded International Kidney Exchange, Ltd. He sent a brochure to 7,500 American hospitals offering to broker contracts between patients with end-stage-renal-disease and persons willing to sell one kidney. His enterprise never got off the ground, but Dr Jacobs did spark an ethical debate that resulted in hearings before a congressional committee headed by Albert Gore, Jr., then a representative from the state of Tennessee. The offensive proposal for kidney sales led to the National Organ Transplant Act to become law in the United States in 1984. An ethical consensus developed around the world that there should be no monetary compensation for transplantable organs, either from living or deceased persons. Unfortunately, the altruistic supply of organs has been much less than adequate, and thousands of patients die each year waiting for organ transplantation. As the number of patients who die waiting for organ transplants continues to rise, more families are taking the quest for an organ into their own hands, and raising tough ethical questions in the process. In July, 2004 Todd Krampitz, 32, of Houston, Texas received a liver transplant after publicizing his plight through billboards, e-mails, a Web site and an extensive media campaign. He suffered from a liver cancer so extensive that it was unlikely he would ever rise to the top of the waiting list for an organ. Left with no alternative, Krampitz 's friends and family publicized his predicament and asked people to donate specifically to him if they or if they had a loved one who died. In August, 2004 a donor family requested that their dying relative 's liver go to Krampitz. Nine months after receiving his transplant, Krampitz died. Called a directed donation, these donations are both
References: Ghods, A. (2004) Governed financial incentives as an alternative to altruistic organ donation. Experimental and Clinical Transplantation, 2(2), 221-228 Robertson, C. (2005) Organ advertising: desperate patients solicit volunteers. Journal of Law and Medical Ethics, 33(1), 170-174 Snowbeck, C. (2004) Publicity campaigns seeking organ donations raise ethical issues. Retrieved September 6, 2005 from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Web site http://www.post-gazette.com Williams, R. (2005) AMA tries to boost organ donations. Retrieved September 6, 2005 from the Science Daily Web site http://www.sciencedaily.com