Why is organ donation an ethical dilemma?

Why is organ donation an ethical dilemma?

Major ethical concerns about organ donation by living related donors focus on the possibility of undue influence and emotional pressure and coercion. By contrast, the living unrelated donor lacks genetic ties to the recipient.

Is it ethical to remove an organ from a living person?

Removal of an organ from a living donor is the only operation that is done specifically to help another person. In fact, living organ donors are chosen because they are healthy. So living organ donation would seem to violate one of the tenants of medicine: primer non nocere, first do no harm.

Why the sale of human organs should be illegal?

The sale of organs negatively affects their altruistic donation by the public as well as the development of local cadaver procurement programs by national governments. All forms of paid organ donation should therefore be made illegal in all countries of the world.

What ethical and practical challenges are involved with the issue of organ donation?

Some of the critical ethical issues that require aggressive interference are organ trafficking, payments for organs, and the delicate balance in live donations between the benefit to the recipient and the possible harm to the donor and others.

What is the controversy surrounding organ donation?

Three controversial issues surrounding the subject are conception for organ donation, donor consent, and transplants from terminally disabled INFANTS. In some instances, a child is conceived expressly for the purpose of using her organs for transplantation in another person, usually a blood relative.

What ethical issues arise from organ donation and transplantation?

Finally the two major ethical issues that are of considerable concern are the autonomy of the donor and recipient and the utility of the procedure. The transplant team must inform the donor of all the risks. The recipient must also accept that the donor is placing himself at great risk.

Is there a benefit to the sale or donation of organs?

A benefit to the sale or donation of live human donors’ organs, is the fact that living organs last much longer than cadaver organs. An example is explained by Nasser Karimi in his article when he explicates that “…kidneys from a living donor have a significantly better long-term survival rate than those from a deceased donor.”

Are donors of human organs illegally donated?

Based upon these factors, unless some of these donors had given up two or more organs, half of the recipients must have obtained their organs illegally. Low rates of donation present limited options other than the black market.

Should we regulate the black market for organ donation?

She feels if we regulated the black market, more donors would be correctly informed about the risks and undergo the proper medical and psychological screenings that would be necessary to donate an organ. “Yes, it’s illegal, but the black market organ trade is also populated by all these people who are law-abiding,” she pointed out.

Why are organ brokers interested in trafficking organs?

The continuing demand for organs fuels the need for more supply, and people in need of organ transplants are taking advantage of the poor who are selling their organs. Organ brokers interested in trafficking organs find communities where individuals have little to no opportunity to escape from poverty.