Examples Of Ethical Bias In Organ Donation

That act of kindness could improve thousands of people’s lives, and offer people a more hopeful future. Another wide spread problem is the criteria for whom is receiving organs first. According to the Center for Bioethics, “ Organs are distributed based on length of time waiting, and age” (Ethics of Transplantation, 2004). Thus, the longer a person has been waiting, the sooner he or she is to receive an organ. Additionally, a younger person is prioritized to receive an organ before an older person received an organ. The criteria for deciding, the order of the transport list, looks good on paper. Unfortunately, the criteria disregards the two unethical bias’s that take place regularly throughout the organ donation process.
The first bias is the …show more content…
The medical bias does not allow patients to ever reach the top of the transport list, if they have poor lifestyle choices, such as: drinking alcohol, smoking, or using drugs. For example, a recovering alcoholic that is in need of a new liver, will most likely not receive the new liver, because people are reluctant to donate organs to recovering alcoholics. It is not ethically right to not give someone a second chance at life, because of the stigma attached to the disease of addiction. Additionally, the second bias is the social bias. The social bias places wealthy people, or people of a high social status, on the top of the transport list. The social bias allows wealth and fame to control the organ donation process. It is not ethically right to prioritize a person’s wealth over a person’s health. The person that deserves the organ should be the person to