Ethical decision making in organ transplant allocation under scarcity

Ethical Considerations Behind Organ Transplants

The idea of organ transplants has suffered several criticisms over the years from the civil society, to the various religious groups and even philosophers. It is challenging to have one perspective on the idea of transplants and apply it universally since not everyone will share the religious view, or the philosophical view. In the context of this memorandum, the utilitarian philosophy will be the baseline for the justification.

Inline with the utilitarian approach that Joh Mill Stuart proposes, that which is useful is that which is right. In his argument, he insists on the virtue of each individual to act in restraint and this is what is right and useful. His perspective of the utilitarian philosophy is important in allowing free will and individual decision making and self nurtured good behavior. He does not believe in people being forced to do good by the state, a stand that advocates for responsible living (John Stuart Mill, 1863). However, the challenge to this is that not each individual can be responsible enough within the society to behave well, but there are those who can be well behaved when guidelines are introduced.

Mill was also known for his emphasis on his utilitarian theory on pleasure, he indicates that pleasure is the single intrinsically desirable thing. He was however known as the qualitative hedonist due to the emphasis that meaningful pleasure is the higher pleasure which engages the higher faculties such as the pleasure of the intellect, of moral sentiments, of the feelings and of imagination. It is in line with these arguments by Mill that the decision on which candidate is most suitable for the heart transplant will be made. This decision will be done on the grounds of cost-benefit analysis of the possible recipients.

Jerry; this mid level manager brings forth several benefits for instance he has three children and a wife who depend on him. He also has a career prospect ahead of him. He also contributes significantly to the nation building through his taxes and with the first born being a sophomore, with the support of the father he will soon join the category of nation builders. One down side is that he is the oldest of the three and has lived through most of his life expected yet the rest of the patients have not. He is also the cause of his own condition with the use of steroids at a younger age.

Lisa; she brings forth the benefit of being young and having all the possibilities of having a quality life ahead if given the chance to. She has not contributed to his misfortune as is the case with the other patients. The allocation of the available heart to her will automatically earn the hospital $2 million which will go an along way to serve many people in the near future. The downside to her case is that there is no assurance that apart from the $2 million there could be any further benefits from her that would influence others positively as well. The other downside is that she is prone to health issues and there is no assurance that with the transplant, this heart too will not be damaged by another infection and go to waste.

Ozzy; the benefits that will come from giving Ozzy the heart transplant is that he will dedicate an entire year to charity as a counselor-mentor, giving direction to better life to children who need such services. The possible cost is that Ozzy may be a victim of recidivism due to his history with the highly addictive cocaine which is what caused his heart condition. Lthis would damage the new heart and hence a wasted chance.

Patient to receive the transplant