Lives and choices, give and take: Altruism and organ procurement

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Statistical Evidence ◽  
Opting Out ◽  
Procurement Policy ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Utilitarian Approach ◽  
Cadaveric Organ

In 2015, Wales introduced a deemed consent: soft opt-out system for organ procurement in order to address the chronic shortage of organs for transplant. Early statistical evidence suggests that this has had a positive impact on cadaveric organ donation. Such a system for procurement has previously been dismissed by the Organ Donation Taskforce, who suggested that opting out could potentially undermine the concept of donated organs as gifts and this could then negatively impact the number of organs offered for transplant. Considerable weight was placed upon the need to retain the altruistic gift element associated with an opt-in system. This article will consider the role of altruism in an organ procurement policy. A broad utilitarian approach will be taken when putting forward the arguments in favour of adopting a weak altruism position in a soft opt-out system for procurement with a combined registry.

Fewer Mistakes and Presumed Consent

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Zambrano
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Patient Autonomy ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Major Premise ◽  
Presumed Consent ◽  
Procurement Policy ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Explicit Consent ◽  
Major Argument ◽  
Better Than

Abstract “Opt-out” organ procurement policies based on presumed consent are typically advertised as being superior to “opt-in” policies based on explicit consent at securing organs for transplantation. However, Michael Gill (2004) has argued that presumed consent policies are also better than opt-in policies at respecting patient autonomy. According to Gill’s Fewer Mistakes Argument, we ought to implement the procurement policy that results in the fewest frustrated wishes regarding organ donation. Given that the majority of Americans wish to donate their organs, it is plausible that a presumed consent policy would result in fewer frustrated wishes compared to the current opt-in policy. It follows that we ought to implement a policy of presumed consent. In this paper, I first consider and find wanting an objection to the Fewer Mistakes Argument developed recently by Douglas MacKay (2015). I also consider an objection put forth by James Taylor (2012) but argue that there is a methodological reason to prefer my own argument to Taylor’s. Finally, I argue for two theses: first, that Gill’s major argument in favor of the crucial premise of the Fewer Mistakes Argument is flawed, and second, that the major premise of the Fewer Mistakes Argument is false.

Opt-out paradigms for deceased organ donation are ethically incoherent

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2021-107630
Author(s):  
G M Qurashi
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Organ Donor ◽  
Organ Shortage ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Deceased Organ Donation ◽  
The Dead

The Organ Donation Act 2019 has introduced an opt-out organ donor register in England, meaning that consent to the donation of organs upon death is presumed unless an objection during life was actively expressed. By assessing the rights of the dead over their organs, the sick to those same organs, and the role of consent in their requisition, this paper interrogates whether such paradigms for deceased organ donation are ethically justifiable. Where legal considerations are applicable, I focus on the recent changes in England as a case in point; however, this paper ultimately challenges the justifiability of opt-out systems in any form, concluding that ethical solutions to organ shortage do not lie in opt-out systems of deceased organ procurement.

The Moral Psychology of AI and the Ethical Opt-Out Problem

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Jean-François Bonnefon ◽  
Azim Shariff ◽  
Iyad Rahwan
Keyword(s):  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Normative Ethics ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Moral Domains ◽  
Self Driving Cars

This chapter discusses the limits of normative ethics in new moral domains linked to the development of AI. In these new domains, people have the possibility to opt out of using a machine if they do not approve of the ethics that the machine is programmed to follow. In other words, even if normative ethics could determine the best moral programs, these programs would not be adopted (and thus have no positive impact) if they clashed with users’ preferences—a phenomenon that can be called “ethical opt-out.” The chapter then explores various ways in which the field of moral psychology can illuminate public perception of moral AI and inform the regulations of such AI. The chapter’s main focus is on self-driving cars, but it also explores the role of psychological science for the study of other moral algorithms.

Bioethical and Legal Considerations in Increasing the Supply of Transplantable Organs: From UAGA to “Baby Fae”

1985 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard S. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Organ Transplant ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
Religion And Ethics ◽  
The Media ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Related Mortality

AbstractIn the last 35 years, organ transplant technology has advanced greatly. The major problem associated with organ transplantation is organ availability, and not surgery-related mortality. This article examines current organ procurement procedures and technologies, legislative repsonses to the scarcity of transplantable organs, as well as the psychological barriers to organ donation. Issues of fairness in the allocation of scarce economic and social resources, the role of religion and ethics in organ donation and transplantation decision, and the impact of the media are also considered.

Adapting Teaching Styles to Accommodate Learning Preferences for Effective Hospital Development

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Y. Eshleman
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Teaching Styles ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Educational Design ◽  
Development Professionals ◽  
Organ Procurement Organizations ◽  
Hospital Development

Hospital development professionals in organ procurement organizations engage in many roles in the hospital. The important role of educator requires making the most of each teaching opportunity by understanding the characteristics of the learning audience and applying proven principles of adult educational design, with a focus on collaborative learning and variety in presentation techniques. The goal is to provide effective education, enabling hospital staff to transfer this learning to the job setting, with the outcome of facilitating a supportive process that saves lives through organ donation.

Ensuring appropriate assessment of deemed consent in Wales

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Alexander Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Recent Article ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Fair Assessment ◽  
New System

Albertsen, in his recent article, offers an assessment of the recently introduced opt-out system for organ donation in Wales. However, he focuses on whether concerns raised prior to the enactment of the new system have been realised, rather than any positive impact on the number of actual donors. This side-lining of the main issue has resulted in a strangely positive portrayal of a system that has not yet yielded the results hoped for. Further, his failure to examine data over a number of years—instead opting for just 2—fails to even provide a fair assessment of the concerns he acknowledges.

The Role of the Organ Procurement Organization (DSO) in Coordinating Organ Donation in Germany and the Organ Donation Initiative Plan (Sponsor: Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nürnberg)

2020 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 20-23
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Organ Donors ◽  
Organ Procurement Organization ◽  
Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation ◽  
Key Factor

AbstractOrgan donation in Germany started to decline in 2010 and dropped to a 20-year low of 797 organ donors in 2017. The rate of 9.7 organ donors per million population is far below donor rates in other European countries. The Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation (DSO, German Organ Procurement Organization) has been concerned about this development for many years and, in cooperation with German donor hospitals, has conducted extensive analyses to identify possible causes. While the causes are multifarious, the DSO sees the improvement of the identification and referral of potential organ donors in hospitals as a key factor in enhancing organ donation rates.

scholarly journals Family-Based Consent and Motivation for Cadaveric Organ Donation in China: An Ethical Exploration1

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 534-553
Author(s):  
Ruiping Fan ◽  
Mingxu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
The Family ◽  
Cadaveric Organ ◽  
Family Based

Abstract This essay indicates that Confucian family-based ethics is by no means a stumbling block to organ donation in China. We contend that China should not change to an opt-out consent system in order to enhance donation because a “hard” opt-out system is unethical, and a “soft” opt-out system is unhelpful. We argue that the recently-introduced familist model of motivation for organ donation in mainland China can provide a proper incentive for donation. This model, and the family priority right that this model supports, is ethically justifiable in terms of Confucian family-based ethics.

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