Living organ donation: shifting responsibility

Article Abstract:

From the beginning of organ transplantation, biologically related living donors have usually provided the best chance for success, and the use of nonrelated donors has been controversial. The issues surrounding the use of altruistic donors are considered, but the moral and ethical aspects of paid donors are not addressed here. Kidney transplantation is highly successful, and is the best-documented type of donation. The greatest concern is the risk to the donor, and there is always risk with major surgery. There is also future risk of later high blood pressure, protein in the urine (proteinuria), and even adverse psychological reactions, although many donors experience great satisfaction. Whether the benefit to the recipient is worth the risk to the donor is a value judgment that can only be made by the donor, and people's values differ. Physicians should not impose their values on others by rejecting competent, willing donors. Precedents for allowing people to make their own value judgments based on risk-benefit analysis abound: driving is allowed in spite of tens of thousands of auto-related deaths each year, and people are allowed to choose cosmetic surgery in spite of surgical risks. Physicians must remember that the willingness to take risks to help others is not a sign of mental illness, but expresses a highly admired value in our society. The donor must be made fully aware of the risks and the chances for successful transplantation, and other options should definitely be explored, but if no other options exist and the donor is still willing, the physician should not refuse. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Management, editorial

---

Mandated choice: a plan to increase public commitment to organ donation

Article Abstract:

Nearly two-thirds of all adults may prospectively sign up to be organ donors at the time of death under a managed choice law. Managed choice requires all competent adults to prospectively decide and record whether they wish to be organ donors at the time of death. Researchers surveyed 1,002 adults to determine the percentage of people who would sign up as organ donors under a managed choice law and to elicit other information about organ donation. Seventy-four percent of adults had thought about becoming an organ donor and twenty-five percent had seriously considered the issue. Thirty percent of respondents had decided to donate their organs, 12% declined, and 58% were unsure. Only 38% of adults had conveyed their wishes about organ donation to a family member. The overwhelming majority of adults believe that people should make their own decisions about organ donation rather than leaving the decisions to their families. Under a mandated choice law, 63% of people would sign up as organ donors, 24% would decline, and 13% were unsure.

Laws, regulations and rules, Public opinion

---

Who are the donors in organ donation? The family's perspective in mandated choice

Article Abstract:

Mandated choice presents several ethical and logistical problems that make it unlikely to increase the number of organs available for transplant. With mandated choice, adults would be required to declare whether they wished to donate their organs. This wish, unlike the current system, could not be overridden by families. Mandated choice is likely to increase distress by shutting families out. Many people want their family involved and would not commit to transplantation. Mandated choice could also negatively affect public opinion of transplantation. And it would require a huge, expensive, and complex database to maintain the registration lists.

Family

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Helping patients take responsibility for their own health. Patient-initiated treatment of recurrent urinary tract infection in women
• Abstracts: Erythropoietin for anemia. Metastatic renal cell carcinoma: response to treatment with human recombinant erythropoietin
• Abstracts: Olsalazine for ulcerative colitis. Sulfasalazine revisited: a meta-analysis of 5-aminosalicylic acid in the treatment of ulcerative colitis
• Abstracts: Loiasis in endemic and nonendemic populations: immunologically medicated differences in clinical presentation
• Abstracts: Smoking cessation and weight gain. Obesity and efforts to lose weight. Nicotine medications for smoking cessation

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.