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Ethical issues surrounding organ donation
Ethical issues surrounding organ donation
Summary of organ transplants the good and the bad
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Jon Harmening Academic Writing Mr. Steiner 5/9/14 The Ultimate Gift When an organ such as your heart, liver, kidney or pancreas fails to function, the only remaining option may be to have an organ transplant. What if there are not enough organs to be used to save the lives of people who are in need? This is one of the huge problems we are facing today, not only in the United States, but all over the world. Due to the lack of organ donors, many people in need of an organ will die because they could not find a match in time, or because there were simply no organs to be offered. This problem can be dramatically changing if more people are willing to donate their organs. The first attempts of organ transplants came during the early 1900’s, but due to the lack of drugs and insight about the procedures, they often failed because of organ rejection, killing most patients (The Development of Organ Transplantation). Today, transplantations of different organs would be a lot more common if there were more organ donors to donate. With less people being killed on the highways and in other accidents, the amount of organs needed for people who truly need them has decreased greatly. Options to overcome this loss have been proposed, such as the transformation from an “Opt-In” to an “Opt-Out” organization, where organs would be used unless someone respectively objected the use of them (Egendorf). There are many important pieces to make organ donation and transplantation successful, such as the process it goes through and the requirements that are involved. Organ donation is when one person is willing and able to give their tissues and organs away and give them to someone else who is in need of them. Most organs and tissues that are don... ... middle of paper ... ...n. As calculations are being completed, the OPO will then contact the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. This network operates the database of every patient in the United States. The OPTN is operated by the United Network of Organ Sharing which is a private organization that helps the men, women and children in need of crucial organs (Organ Donation: The Process). The final part is arranging the arrival and departure times for the surgical staff. Time is significant as the organ needs to be delivered quickly so it remains healthy. Transportation of organs may vary depending on the distance and are mainly transferred by airplane, helicopter, or ambulance. After all this waiting and hard work, the operation will take place by a surgical team working around the clock to transplant the new organ in the awaiting recipient (Organ Donation: The Process).
However, Saunders begins his argument by arguing that the current opt-in system leads to a shortage in the supply of organs and this is a major concern. This results in numerous people who need organs dying while on waiting lists and also suffering while waiting for transplant as one of their organs is failing. This is Saunders’ first premise to support his conclusion to put an opt-out system in place. By putting an opt-out system in place, this will contribute to an increase in the supply of organs.
Death is an unavoidable factor in life. We are all expected to die, but for some of the people the end does not have to come too soon. Joanna MacKay in her article Organ Sales Will Save discuss how the legalization of the organs sale, possesses the capability of saving thousands of lives. MacKay in her thesis stipulates that the government should not ban the human organs sale rather they should regulate it (MacKay, 2004). The thesis statement has been supported by various assertions with the major one being that it shall save lives. The author argues that with the legalized sale of organs, more people would be eager to donate their kidneys.
In 1954, the first organ transplant was conducted successfully in the United States. (Clemmons, 2009) Nowadays, the technology of organ transplant has greatly advanced and operations are carried out every day around the world. According to current system, organ sales are strictly prohibited in the United States. (Clemmons, 2009) However, the donor waiting list in the United States has doubled in the last decade and the average waiting time for a kidney is also increasing. (Clemmons, 2009) In the year 2007, over 70,000 patients were on the waiting list for a kidney and nearly 4500 of them died during the waiting period. In contrast to the increasing demand for kidney, organ donation has been in a decrease. (Wolfe, Merion, Roys, & Port, 2009) Even the government puts in great effot to increase donation incentives, the gap between supply and demand of organs still widens. In addition, the technology of therapeutic cloning is still not mature and many obstacles are met by scientists. (Clemmons, 2009) Hence, it is clear that a government regulated kidney market with clear legislation and quality control is the best solution to solve the kidney shortage problem since it improves the lives of both vendors and patients.
It is clear that a large demand for organs exists. People in need of organ donations are transferred to an orderly list. Ordinarily, U.S. institutions have an unprofitable system which provides organs through a list of individuals with the highest needs; however, these organs may never come. A list is
A pittance for your kidney? It’s highly unlikely that anyone would answer yes to that question; however what if someone offered significantly more than a pittance? A thousand dollars, or perhaps even five thousand dollars? Although the buying and selling of organs is illegal on American soil, it’s no secret that the opportunity exists in other countries around the world. “In America, we have waiting list for people who are trying to get kidneys, there they have people who are on a wait list to sell their kidneys” (Gillespie). It’s quite incredible how a country cut off from western civilization, like Iran, has found such an innovative way to encourage organ donation. In American society one needs to “opt in” if they wish to participate in the
Organ donation is the process of surgical removing an organ or tissue from the organ owner and placing it into the recipient. The donation is usually made when the donor has no use for their belongings (after death) so they give the recipient the necessary organ/tissue that has failed or has been damaged by injury or disease. I agree with the idea of organ donations, the reason I support organ donations is because I believe that it can cause reduction on people dying and increasing the number of saving lives. Patients on the path of death from organ failure often live longer after receiving a transplant (Dubois,19). I am all for organ donations because in my opinion it’s a genuine act of love. It is a
I am very interested in the topic of Organ transplantation. I am interested in biology and the process of surgeries. What intrigues me is the process of saving someone’s life in such a dramatic and complicated process. My dad happens to be a doctor and in his training he cut open a human body to see for himself the autonomy of the body. So being interested in the field of medicine is in my blood. Modern technology helps many people and saves people around the globe. However even with modern technologies that progress mankind, bio medical and ethical dilemmas emerge. And ultimately life falls into the hands of the rabbis, lawmakers and philosophical thinkers.
...e identifies the need for improvement not in the distribution of the organs available for transplant, but in the education of policy and regulating agencies on diversity, multiculturalism and ethics that need to be applied prior to approaching the general public and asking them to become organ donors for the good of everyone.
As a conclusion, I want you to imagine that one morning you wake up and find out that you are moving for a holiday and you have a closet filled with clothes which are new but useless for you in your holiday, what would you do with these clothes? Would you throw them out or would you leave them behind for someone else to use? Organ donation is something like that; you can make people happy with your decision and make them live their second life instead of bringing your organs with you when you are dead. By making organ donation you can be a hope for sick people. Organ donation is not made if your organ is necessary for you or your decision does not affect the attitudes of doctors towards you. Also it is not against your faith and your body will not be cut into pieces. Therefore, organ donation is very necessary and people should be informed about this issue.
Organ donation is when someone who has died, has previously given permission for their organs to be taken from their body and transplanted into someone else?s who because of some sort of medical condition, can not survive off of their own. At the time of death one?s heart, intestine, kidneys, liver, lung, pancreas, pancreas islet cell, heart valves, bone, skin, corneas, veins, cartilage, and tendons can all be used for transplantation. Choosing to donate organs is beneficial to many people, morally the right thing to do when you pass on and, is also one of the most important ways for survival of many people.
Organ failure is often known as the final step that precedes death in patients that are critically ill. One of the main causes of organ failure is sepsis, which is the body’s severe response to infection. There is now a specific assessment known as The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, otherwise known as SOFA, to identify early organ failure, give it a score and base interventions off of these scores (Sakr et al., 2012). Organ failure can also take place from a transplanted organ. It is known that 7% of people’s transplants fail within a year and within three years 17% of these transplants failed (Tushla, 2016). On March 21, 1984 an organization known as the United Network for Organ Sharing was developed and is an independent, non-profit organization (United Network for Organ Sharing, 2015). This network is available to all hospitals in efforts to match donors with recipients in a timely manner. In the 1950’s, if an organ could not be used at the hospital it was it there was no way of knowing if it could be used anywhere else. In this time, it was not that there were not enough donors but more of a problem of finding the right matches in time. The United Network for Organ sharing first started with all of the recipients on paper logs, while communicating through the
The up-to-date medical advancement has come a long way, including making it possible for donating one’s major organs, blood, and tissues to desperate individuals needing them to sustain life. Organ donation still has problems even with the modern technology and breakthroughs. The majority of individuals need to comprehend to have a successful organ transplant it is essential to have active individuals that are willing to donate their organs. Typically, most individuals or family that consent to donate their precious organ 's desire life to continue. Their intentions are when one life is gone there is hope for another life to continue. Health care is experiencing a shortage in organ donation and the people that desperately need these organs
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.
Organ donation is the surgical removal of organs or a tissue of one person to be transplanted to another person for the purpose of replacing a failed organ damaged by disease or injury. Organs and tissues that can be transplanted are liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, lungs, intestines, cornea, middle ear, skin, bone, bone marrow, heart valves, and connective tissues. Everyone regardless of age can consider themselves as potential donors. After one dies, he is evaluated if he is suited for organ donation based on their medical history and their age as determined by the Organ Procurement Agency (Cleveland Clinic).
One of the most important and prevalent issues in healthcare discussed nowadays is the concern of the organ donation shortage. As the topic of organ donation shortages continues to be a growing problem, the government and many hospitals are also increasingly trying to find ways to improve the number of organ donations. In the United States alone, at least 6000 patients die each year while on waiting lists for new organs (Petersen & Lippert-Rasmussen, 2011). Although thousands of transplant candidates die from end-stage diseases of vital organs while waiting for a suitable organ, only a fraction of eligible organ donors actually donate. Hence, the stark discrepancy in transplantable organ supply and demand is one of the reasons that exacerbate this organ donation shortage (Parker, Winslade, & Paine, 2002). In the past, many people sought the supply of transplantable organs from cadaver donors. However, when many ethical issues arose about how to determine whether someone is truly dead by either cardiopulmonary or neurological conditions (Tong, 2007), many healthcare professionals and transplant candidates switched their focus on obtaining transplantable organs from living donors instead. As a result, in 2001, the number of living donors surpassed the number of cadaver donors for the first time (Tong, 2007).