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Moral theories in organ donation
Moral theories in organ donation
Organ donation ethics and morals
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Blood Transfusions have proven to be very effective in saving the lives of people with either life threatening injuries or illnesses the risks involved in such procedures must be considered, especially when other forms of bloodless treatment have been shown to be as effective opposed to traditional treatments. Transfusion of blood treatment might slow down the effects of aging. I, think it’s true because through research it has shown that a young blood circulation looks younger and functions younger in its brain and has less effect of aging. . The following are the major meta-ethical approaches used in bioethics such as utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics.
Utilitarianism theory, “according to which the right action is the one that
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This product is being developed to be as an all-purpose red blood cell in which the need for perfectly matching donor to recipient blood would be eliminated. When matching up blood cells they must be identical otherwise the recipient would end up having a serious illness that in some cases are fatal. The all-purpose blood cell acts like a sort of camouflage to the body’s immune defenses that prevent it from being rejected. Even the manner in which the blood donors are now screened has effectively reduced the risk of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C from being transfused from person to person. Advances such as these continue to be made in every effort to improve the way blood is donated and received by both the patients and blood …show more content…
This theory takes into question whether or not a person is judged by their actions or their character. If a person is judged by their actions, then the theory states that they are judged ethically. If a person is judged by their character, then they are judged morally. This theory states that there is always a constant internal fight between a person’s ethics and morals. Transfusions are usually performed on patients going in for surgery or those suffering from injury such as loss of blood in a car accident or disease. Cancer is a prime candidate for the use of blood transfusions since it impacts the organs that affect your body’s blood count thereby greatly reducing red and white blood cell count. Whether it is a blood illness, burn, or liver failure various parts of blood can be used to counteract the damage done by such conditions using either red or white blood cells along with platelets. While blood transfusions play a vital role in combating both illness and injury with success these procedures do have some form of risk involved that any blood recipient must take into
On the other hand, if Biopure chooses not to launch Oxyglobin then it will lose the revenue stream and an opportunity to differentiate itself in the market. Moreover, Biopure, with Hemopure, will be entering the market along with other two competitors and will face fierce competition. Additionally, Biopure competitors, Baxter International and Northfield Laboratories, are launching blood substitutes relied on human blood, Biopure will need to address the endowment and status quo effects and convince consumers to shift from using human based blood substitutes to cattle based blood substitutes and hence will lose valuable time to promote the benefits of its Hemopure product before launch. Finally, based on the analysis of gains and losses, it is recommended that Biopure to launch Oxyglobin because it has a relative advantage than not
As medical technology continues to advance, options to treat what were once thought to be fatal conditions continue to increase. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used since the 1970s and became a common therapy for newborns with respiratory failure (Rehder, Turner, & Cheifetz, 2011). Despite ECMO’s proven pediatric use, there are still ethical concerns over this therapy. There are concerns over the expense of this particular therapy in relation to results (Richards & Joubert, 2013). There are also multiple complications that can occur while using ECMO, and recently the expansion of using ECMO in adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), using ECMO as a bridging therapy while awaiting organ transplantation, and also using ECMO to maintain organ perfusion in organ donation have all brought up ethical considerations. Research is ongoing to further explore these issues.
Organ sales and donation are a controversial topic that many individuals cannot seem to agree upon. However, if someone close; a family member, friend, or someone important in life needed a transplant, would that mindset change? There are over one hundred and nineteen thousand men, women, and children currently waiting on the transplant list, and twenty-two of them die each day waiting for a transplant (Organ, 2015). The numbers do not lie. Something needs to be done to ensure a second chance at life for these individuals. Unfortunately, organ sales are illegal per federal law and deemed immoral. Why is it the government’s choice what individuals do with their own body? Organ sales can be considered an ethical practice when all sides of the story are examined. There are a few meanings to the word ethical in this situation; first, it would boost the supply for the
Jehovah's witnesses’ faith allows them to seek medical help; however, they do not accept blood transfusions. This belief arises from a biblical passage that states "Only flesh with its soul- its blood-you must not eat (Genesis 9:3-4), "You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh, because the soul of every sort of flesh is its blood. I will set my face against that person who eats blood...Anyone eating it will be cut off” (Leviticus 17:10, 13-14). These passages are interpreted by Jehovah's witnesses as forbidding the transfusion of any blood products. The following presentation will address legal and ethical issues that can arise from this scenario.
Physician-assisted suicide refers to the physician acting indirectly in the death of the patient -- providing the means for death. The ethics of PAS is a continually debated topic. The range of arguments in support and opposition of PAS are vast. Justice, compassion, the moral irrelevance of the difference between killing and letting die, individual liberty are many arguments for PAS. The distinction between killing and letting die, sanctity of life, "do no harm" principle of medicine, and the potential for abuse are some of the arguments in favor of making PAS illegal. However, self-determination, and ultimately respect for autonomy are relied on heavily as principle arguments in the PAS issue.
Patient X was a seventeen year old male from Australia that was suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is a severe form of blood cancer, and was being treated at Sydney Children's Hospital. Due to the treatments and chemotherapy he was receiving, X's doctors planned on giving him a blood transfusion in order to avoid anemia and a loss of healthy red blood cells. The problem of a blood transfusion for X is that he and his family are Jehovah's witnesses. According to their beliefs, the bible forbids taking or ingesting blood so the doctors orders are out of the question. In order to increase the odds of survival for X, Doctors and the Supreme Court of New South Wales decided to take a paternal view towards this case and ignore his autonomy by legally forcing a blood transfusion.
SITUATION ANALYSIS Biopure Corp. is a small biopharmaceutical company founded in 1984 with the main goal of developing an innovative human blood substitute that would be easier to administer and safer than a donated blood. While working on the human blood substitute Hemopure, Biopure Corp. also developed an ancillary product, a veterinary blood substitute Oxyglobin, aimed for blood transfusions in dogs. Both products are bovine sourced. In 1998, the company receives a government approval for commercial release of Oxyglobin and Hemopure is about to enter phase III clinical trials with expectation to receive government approval in about two years. Biopure has one manufacturing facility, using the same equipment to produce both products.
When viewing organ donation from a moral standpoint we come across many different views depending on the ethical theory. The controversy lies between what is the underlying value and what act is right or wrong. Deciding what is best for both parties and acting out of virtue and not selfishness is another debatable belief. Viewing Kant and Utilitarianism theories we can determine what they would have thought on organ donation. Although it seems judicious, there are professionals who seek the attention to be famous and the first to accomplish something. Although we are responsible for ourselves and our children, the motives of a professional can seem genuine when we are in desperate times which in fact are the opposite. When faced with a decision about our or our children’s life and well being we may be a little naïve. The decisions the patients who were essentially guinea pigs for the first transplants and organ donation saw no other options since they were dying anyways. Although these doctors saw this as an opportunity to be the first one to do this and be famous they also helped further our medical technology. The debate is if they did it with all good ethical reasoning. Of course they had to do it on someone and preying upon the sick and dying was their only choice. Therefore we are responsible for our own health but when it is compromised the decisions we make can also be compromised.
In this paper I will be using the normative theory of utilitarianism as the best defensible approach to increase organ donations. Utilitarianism is a theory that seeks to increase the greatest good for the greatest amount of people (Pense2007, 61). The utilitarian theory is the best approach because it maximizes adult organ donations (which are the greater good) so that the number of lives saved would increase along with the quality of life, and also saves money and time.
The question arises whether a person’s claim to determine what transpires to their bodies afore and postmortem should be respected. Traditional medical ethics lean toward preserving the rights of the person. This translates into the act of not harvesting organs from the living or deceased unless valid consent has been obtained. The basis of this ethical policy lies in the deontological theories that were established by our philosophical forefathers, such as, John Locke and John Stuart Mill. Refusing to acknowledge the individual rights of a potential donor; the doctor, or medical facility is committing an act of ethical betrayal of the donor, the family, the institution of medicine and the law. Thus, the individual rights of the donor must be upheld to the highest ethical degree.
The case of Dr. Lowell and Mrs. Jackson revolves around a conflict between the doctor, who advocates the implementation of a particular treatment and the patient who disagrees with the doctor and wishes to do things her own way. The doctor feels that the suggested course of action is disastrous and threatens to have the patient declared mentally incompetent. The question now is whether or not the doctor is morally justified in taking action against the patient in order to implement the course of treatment she feels would be most effective. Is this an infringement on the autonomy of the patient or is the doctor morally obliged to do everything that he/she can possible do in order to restore the patient’s health even if that includes to go so far as to take this decision out of the hands of the patient?
Blood donation is a very essential procedure in the health system. The process entails collecting blood from willing donors, testing it and then separating it into its components so that it can be used on patients. Whereas hospitals are the main users of the donated blood, they are not exactly authorised to collect, test and separate it in their own premises. Most of the health institutions get the blood from larger bodies such as the Red Cross or other Community based blood groups. Though initially faced with lots of problems, blood transfusion has been used since 1667 as a solution to some of human illnesses. Since then to now, hospitals have grown so dependent on blood donation and transfusion to save human life. With it being used and applied
Blood transfusions increase the number of red blood cells in the circulation in order to enhance athlete’s performance. Illegal blood transfusions are used by athletes to boost performance. There are two types. Autologous transfusion, involves a blood transfusion of the athlete's own blood, which is frozen and then stored for future use. Homologous blood transfusion, athletes will use the blood of someone else with the same blood type. EPO injections improve an athlete’s performance as it controls the body's production of red blood cells. In hospital, EPO injections are given to patients suffering from kidney cancer to stimulate the production of red blood cells. Instead of stimulating the production of red blood cells athletes using EPO injections do so to encourage their bodies to produce higher than normal amounts of red blood cells to enhance performance. This has impact cycling athletes that train for years to reach where they are today and has also impacted the reputation of
Many articles have published the same health benefits such as maintaining a healthy liver. The liver in the human body filters blood but, when there’s an excess of iron in the body, it begins to absorb the excess iron, therefore, causing liver failure. Donating blood, as mentioned before, reduces the high iron levels in a person, hence, preventing liver failure to maintain a healthy organ. One other commonly benefit mentioned in many articles is that donating blood can give the donor a free, brief check-up. When a person decides to donate blood, they must go through a series of health questions and tests to see if they’re qualified to donate. Some tests that a phlebotomists performs are: a hemoglobin test, to see if the donor has normal iron levels; a blood pressure test, to see if the donor has normal blood pressure; and they also take the donor’s temperature to detect if they have a fever or not. After donating the blood, the American Red Cross then proceed to do other tests with small vials of blood they’ve collected during the donation process. With these small vials, the blood donated will be tested for infectious diseases; such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Syphilis, etc; that can possible transmit to another person if infected blood was given to a patient. Another great benefit is that blood donation may help the blood flow through the veins and arteries flow more smoothly. In the article, 4 Unexpected Benefits of Donating Blood, Phillip DeChristopher, M.D., P.h.D., stated that “If blood has a high viscosity, or resistance to flow, it will flow like molasses” (Swalin). High viscosity causes blood to flow slower through the arteries, therefore, causing decreased oxygen flow to parts of the body. This resistance of blood flow in the body is caused by having too many red blood cells in the bloodstream, which can cause seizures,
Before giving blood, the donor is given tests to determine his blood group and make sure he is not suffering from certain diseases. When this has been done his blood can be