Ethics and morality: definitions and philosophical frameworks

Ethics and Morality

Organ donation is an extension of a person's life, but who can say whose life should be extended? In a situation where two people are in need of the same organ, who should we choose? Two people are in need of a kidney, one is a two-year-old patient and the other, 47 years old. Who gets to have that kidney that can save their lives?

There are a lot of ethical reasons to be considered in choosing the "right" organ recipient. In an article by Dr. David L. Perry, he discussed about ethical considerations in organ transplant. He pointed out some things to be considered in choosing a recipient. First is the ability to pay. Economic inequality may hinder someone from "availing" an organ, but he points out that this shouldn't be that case. Donated organs are not luxuries of life. These are scarce resources and every taxpayer in need has the right to organ transplantation. Another consideration is the preference of the donor or kin. For some this could be an act of kindness or gratitude in which they ask to donate their organ to someone they owe their life to or who they love dearly. But this could also be means of inequality when the donor would only prefer patients of the same race, culture or religion to be their recipients. This could also be true when citizens of the same region and nation are more favored over foreigners. An important consideration is the need for the organ. Who is more in need of the organ? What if two are more patients are equally needy?

Between a two-year-old and a forty-seven-year-old, who should get the life-saving kidney? A two-year-old child could have a greater chance to live longer, do more. A 47-year-old has already lived his life, already experienced living; did things he wanted to do; start or may have already reached his dreams. But who can tell who will give justice to the donated kidney. The 2-year-old child may grow up to be a smoker, drug user, obese hypertensive adult. The 47-year-old may realize the worth of life and live a clean healthy lifestyle.

There are 92,486 Americans waiting to receive a life-saving kidney. Even with great efforts to increase sources of donors, still kidney shortage remains. In waiting for a donor there are many criteria to put a patient in the priority list.

For our two patients where the only difference between their situations is their age, it is difficult to decide who deserves the kidney more. Given that they will both live a fruitful life after the operation; the younger patient may be of greater "need" of the kidney. he/she will have a greater chance to live more and have more opportunities in life. This may sound unfair, but take into consideration that the child may have more years to live. Although this still is not sure.