Organ donation myths have been around for a long time. These types of myths have stopped people from being organ donors as well as stopping families from letting there loved one receive a needed organ transplant. These myths are one of the main reasons for the organ shortage in the United States today. While some people decide to save another humans life some do not because of these myths surrounding organ donation. One person has the opportunity to save up to fifty lives just by deciding to be an organ donor and doing so would help with the organ shortage in the United States. One myth that stops somebody from being an organ donor is the belief that the family will be charged extra too allow their loved one to be an organ donor (Steve Rudich)., people that believe they will be charged extra for this procedure do not allow their loved one to become an organ donor in fear of extra expenses added onto an already high medical bill in addition to having the funeral and burial expenses as well (Steve Rudich). According to the Kidney Caucus all of the costs that are related to the medical procedure required to remove organs and tissue will be paid for by the donor program and not the donor family. If a family was to receive a medical bill for the procedure from the hospital or an insurance company they should contact that agent immediately because it is a mistake (Congressman Jim McDermott). A second myth for some people is that when a doctor declares a person dead it is because that will die soon and actually that they were not dead at all (Nancy Valko 2). Some people believe that their loved one is still alive when they hear and see their loved one breathing while hooked up to a machine that is breathing for them (Nancy Valko... ... middle of paper ... ...): 230-236. Egendorf, Laura k. "Organ Donation." Egendorf, Laura K. Organ Donation Opposing views. Greenhaven press, 2009. 21-22. Fugen, Goz, Mustafe Goz, Medine Erkan. "Issues in Clinical Nursing." Knowledge and attitudes of medical, nursingm dentistry and health techniciian students towards organ donation: a pilot study (2005). Hope, Deb. Ryans Hope. December 2007. 27 March 2010 . Lynch, Elizabeth. Organ Donation. New York: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Nancy Valko, RN. "Organ." Should we be dying to donate 20 (2005): 1-3. Steve Rudich, MD, PhD, FACS. Net Wellness. 24 April 2009. 6 March 2010 . Yang, R. Thiessen-Philbrook, H Klarenbach, S. "Insurability of Living Organ Donors." American Journal of Transplantaton (2007): 1542-1551.
In his article “Opt-out organ donation without presumptions”, Ben Saunders is writing to defend an opt-out organ donation system in which cadaveric organs can be used except in the case that the deceased person has registered an objection and has opted-out of organ donation. Saunders provides many arguments to defend his stance and to support his conclusion. This paper will discuss the premises and elements of Saunders’ argument and how these premises support his conclusion. Furthermore, this paper will discuss the effectiveness of Saunders’ argument, including its strengths and weaknesses. Lastly, it will discuss how someone with an opposing view might respond to his article,
With deaths occurring everyday due to a lack of organ donation, this tragic situation could possibly be rectified by educating the public about organ donation by revealing stories behind successuful transplants and the reality that organ donation is truly giving
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
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
10. Youngner, S., and Fox, R. 1996. Organ Transplantation Meanings and Realities. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.
This limitation has made it very crucial to understand why some people would oppose donation. Countries have become multicultural and many social, religious and cultural issues have been related to human organ donation and transplantation. It is of great importance to inform and educate donors and recipients how it works and how they will still survive. There is a great deal of misconception of organ donation and procurement and these misconceptions should be corrected. Some people believe that the donor’s body is mistreated and is mutilated whereas a surgical operation is done to remove the organs without disfiguring the body hence normal funeral arrangements are still possible. It has also been identified that there is a general fear among the community that, if involved in an accident, doctors would not try to save one’s life if he knows that the patient is a
Researchers claim that less than half of all eligible organ donors actually become organ donors.
People in support of organ transplantation argue the cost/benefit ration and have determined their arguing points to be these: Social Responsibility, Improves the Quality of Life, alleviation of familial grief, encourages hope to live, lessens the cost of patient care, improves research and research methods. The opposing side offers an alternative view, offering these augment points: Risk of complication during and after surgery, degradation of health in the long run, adverse physiological effect on donor’s family, financial burden, objections based on religious belief, unethical trade and harvesting of human organs, and finally, the donor has no rights to choose the recipient.
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.
As I have mentioned before, organ donation is a lifesaving operation; but, although opponents of organ donation know this, they have some opposite thoughts about this. They think that organ donation can have some negative sides; and one can classify their thoughts as; religious issues, worries about the age and hospitals’ treatment while they are making the operation and the families who think that their loved relatives’ bodies are salvaged for parts at the time of donation. First of all, they think that organ donation is against their religion; but are the religions really against this; which is a saving of one’s life? Secondly, the opponents of organ donation think that they are too old or too young to make an organ donation, so they decide not to donate their organs; but is the age really an important factor for donation? Also, the people have some fears about the treatment of hospital while they are donating their organs; for example, they worry that at the time of the donation, the other organs of them can be affected negatively; they think that ...
Organ donation is often perceived with doubt because many people do not know the truth. There are many myths out about the donating of organs that cause many people to opt not to. What many do not realize is the truth about organ donation. The body of the donor after the surgery is not mangled up and is presentable for the funeral. Organ donation is ethical and should not be looked down upon. Organ donating is there to save lives, not to hurt anyone. Many people think that they should be paid or given something in return for donating their organs, which is...
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.
Nadiminti, H. (2005) Organ Transplantation: A dream of the past, a reality of the present, an ethical Challenge for the future. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2005/09/fred1-0509.html
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).