I wanted to get some differing opinions on this issue. What do you think of organ donation? Are you a registered organ donor, and if not, why not? What do you consider to be the ethical implications of using a (brain)dead person's organs in another person?
Here is what I understand/believe about the issue:
1. Organ donation saves lives that would otherwise be lost.
2. There are typically far more people awaiting an organ tranplant than there are organ donors, resulting in a persistent demand.
3. Organ donation uses specific tests (won't go into detail) to determine whether a person is really dead before they will excise their organs. These tests are subject to human error and are vulnerable to manipulation.
4. Animals organs are a potential alternative source, as are "lab grown" organs.
With regards to #3 I believe most doctors are ethical and would not deliberately "misconstrue" a person's vital stats for the sake of using their organs, but the fact that it can and has happened is cause for concern.
#4 I believe eventually organ transplants will be a thing of the past and people will have replacement organs grown in a lab directly from their own DNA, but given the complexity of growing even skin cells at the moment (for skin grafts) I'd guess whole organ transplants are still a long way off.
Animal morphology is similar enough to humans' that transplants can be done.
So what do you think? personally I'm okay it, including the ethical aspect of it. I beleive that once a person is dead, their soul has departed from their body and what is left is no longer "their's" if that makes any sense. I don't think there is anything wrong with using a dead person's organs to save another person's life, especially considering those organs are just going to decompose otherwise. The uncertainty for me comes in when I consider precisely how the procedure takes place, what kind of protocols are in place to ensure the donor's body is given due respect -that they're really dead and in no pain- and that the procedure occurs in a safe and timely manner.
There are other factors that go into this issue that I haven't touched upon, such as that organ transplantation is illegal in several countries, and in those that it is allowed, donors/families aren't compensated financially for their service. This combined with the fact that organ transplants are in high demand has created a flourishing black market. Feel free to talk about these factors if you so wish.
Here is what I understand/believe about the issue:
1. Organ donation saves lives that would otherwise be lost.
2. There are typically far more people awaiting an organ tranplant than there are organ donors, resulting in a persistent demand.
3. Organ donation uses specific tests (won't go into detail) to determine whether a person is really dead before they will excise their organs. These tests are subject to human error and are vulnerable to manipulation.
4. Animals organs are a potential alternative source, as are "lab grown" organs.
With regards to #3 I believe most doctors are ethical and would not deliberately "misconstrue" a person's vital stats for the sake of using their organs, but the fact that it can and has happened is cause for concern.
#4 I believe eventually organ transplants will be a thing of the past and people will have replacement organs grown in a lab directly from their own DNA, but given the complexity of growing even skin cells at the moment (for skin grafts) I'd guess whole organ transplants are still a long way off.
Animal morphology is similar enough to humans' that transplants can be done.
So what do you think? personally I'm okay it, including the ethical aspect of it. I beleive that once a person is dead, their soul has departed from their body and what is left is no longer "their's" if that makes any sense. I don't think there is anything wrong with using a dead person's organs to save another person's life, especially considering those organs are just going to decompose otherwise. The uncertainty for me comes in when I consider precisely how the procedure takes place, what kind of protocols are in place to ensure the donor's body is given due respect -that they're really dead and in no pain- and that the procedure occurs in a safe and timely manner.
There are other factors that go into this issue that I haven't touched upon, such as that organ transplantation is illegal in several countries, and in those that it is allowed, donors/families aren't compensated financially for their service. This combined with the fact that organ transplants are in high demand has created a flourishing black market. Feel free to talk about these factors if you so wish.
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