Organ Donation Is a Controversial Term Paper

The flaws have been reverted through the policy of no-give, no-take, "under this system in order to receive an organ the individual has to previously signed their organ donor card" (Alexander, 2004). The merit of such policy is that "it satisfies most people's moral intuitions, the people are comfortable with the morality of reciprocity, those who are willing to give should be the first to receive" (Alexander, 2004).

In 2004, ethical issues related to the death and organ donations were discussed by the Kennedy Institute Journal if Ethics in their September issue. The main highlight of the issue has been the proposal, "expanding donation beyond death and non-heart beating organ donation by redefining death and/or providing exceptions to the dead donor rule" (Nancy, 2005). The journal published the claim of an ethicist, which stated that the competent patient has the choice to remove the organs prior to death, provided that the directive was issued in advance. There have been some controversies about the description of the brain death, vegetative state and coma, and do these terms interpret "a living or dead person as an opportunity to change the rules about organ donation" (Nancy, 2005). There has been suggestion by the medical community that EEG test shall be dropped from the hospital's policy on brain death tests, the test is often required for the purpose of organ donation.

Some other proposals have been floated, which have requested change in the organ donation rules, the proposed rules include the requisition of the patient or family consent for donation, "which legally assumes that everyone is automatically willing to be an organ donor unless they have documented an objection to it" (Nancy, 2005). In some of the states in North America, certain regulations have been enforced relevant to organ donation which compulsorily requires the signature on organ donation card, irrespective of the family objection. Among such proposals, "the most outrageous proposal has been the performing outright euthanasia to obtain organs" (Nancy, 2005).

A recommendation was drafted in journal titled Critical Care Medicine by Drs. Robert D. Trough and Walter M. Robinson, the proposal was that all the individuals willing to donate their organs, and those who are neurologically devastated, and vulnerable to death shall be allowed to donate their organs, prior to their official pronouncement of as dead. It is important that the public is kept informed about the ethical issues, and shall be offered an opportunity to communicate their concerns, which shall support in the determination of the policies prior to the authorization of an organ donor card, so that the procedure shall be regarded as "truly informed consent" (Nancy, 2005).

References

Nancy Valko. Should we be dying to donate? Voices Online Edition Vol. XX NO. 1. 2005. Pp. 7

Alexander Tabarrok. Life Saving Icentives: Consequences, costs and solutions to the organ shortage. The…