Alcoholics Should NOT Be Eligible to Receive Organ Transplants

1098 Words3 Pages

In modern medicine, we have the ability to transplant organs from one person to another, with the hopes that this will greatly improve the length and quality of life for the patient receiving the transplant. Ten years ago, there were 53,167 people on the transplant list. By the beginning of 2015, the list increased to over 123,000 people waiting for that miracle call stating that they found a match and the transplant can now happen. One reason for the increase in people on the list is that people in the age group between 50-70 years old are now considered to be viable candidates for transplant due to medical advances. However, by December, 2014, twenty-one people were dying each day while waiting for a transplant. (Benjamin Samstein, 2015) This brings us to a question, should an alcoholic who had previously been lucky enough to have a liver transplant, be allowed to get another liver transplant after he let his alcoholism ruin another liver? When someone is in need of a transplant, there are several factors that are looked at in deciding whether or not the patient will be placed on the transplant list. Patients receive points for medical need, tissue type and time on the waiting list. Doctors then use a computer algorithm to decide who gets the organs available. Typically, one’s overall health, age, ability to comply with the regimen of anti-rejection drugs and a strong support system also comes into the decision process as well. Geographical location of the donor organ is also very important in the decision making process. (Whitford, 2005) Due to the shortage of organs, not all on the list get the organs they need. If people would get past their fears with regards to stem cell research, we could grow perfectly viable h... ... middle of paper ... ...n to respect our bodies as the temples that they are. Use the medicine for when things happen that we can not control, not for when we lose control. Works Cited Abhinandana Anantharaju, M. D. (n.d.). Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Liver disease. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. www.pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publicationarh27-3/257-269.htm Benjamin Samstein, M. (2015). Bottom Line's Daily health news. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. www.botomlinesecrets.com/articvle.html?article_id=48034 Kluge, E. (2004). Ethics of Organ Transplantation. Canadian Medcial Association Journal . Perry, D. D. Ethical Conmsideration in organ transplants. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. home.eathlink.net/~davidlperry/organs.htm. Whitford, B. (2005, 11 28). Who gets the organs. Newsweek. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. www.newsweek.com/2005/11/27/who-gets-the-organs.html

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