Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ethical Issues Regarding Related and Nonrelated Living Organ Donors

 2014 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Ethical Issues Regarding Related and Nonrelated Living Organ Donors.

Author information

  • Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, 3410 Worth Street, Suite 950, Dallas, TX, 75246, USA, Giuliano.Testa@BaylorHealth.edu.

Abstract

The ethics of the clinical practice of transplanting human organs for end-stage organ disease is a fascinating topic. Who is the "owner" of the transplantable organs of a deceased, brain-dead patient? Who should have a right to receive these organs? Who set the boundaries between a living donor's autonomy and a "paternalistic" doctor? What constitutes a proper consent? These questions are only some of the ethical issues that have been discussed in the last 60 years. All of these ethical issues are intensified by the fact that supply of human organs does not match demand, and that, as a consequence, living-donor organ transplantation is widely utilized. The aim of this article is not to be exhaustive but to present the generalethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice as applied to organ transplantation. Moreover, the topic of reimbursement for organ donation is also discussed.

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