Organ allocation involves ethical decision-making. When making an ethical decision all biases and individuality must be withheld from criteria to make a decision that is objective. The process can be very challenging for individuals with the responsibility of making those decisions. Every effort must be made to uphold the ethical principles set by the ethics board. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ethical decision-making process of organ allocation and give the reader an insight into the challenges faced with making ethical life sustaining choices.
Criteria must be met to be placed on a waiting list for organ transplantation. A physician will give a patient a referral to a transplant hospital. The patient will choose a hospital based on individual needs. An appointment with a transplant team will determine whether the patient is a good candidate for organ transplant based on that hospital’s criteria ("What Factors ," n.d.) Two individuals that have been put on a wait list for cardiac transplantation will be discussed to show the importance of ethical decision making for organ allocation. Mr. Rodriquez is a 33-year-old man currently serving a 15-year sentence for robbery. He will be eligible for parole in five years and has been a model prisoner. He previously served 18 months for burglary …show more content…
Justice requires equal respect to each patient, but not necessarily treating them the same way. Priority is given to the sickest patient even if the other patient who is not as sick would have a better outcome. Principles of justice are medical urgency, finding another organ in the future, how long a person has been on the waiting list, if this is a first transplant, age, and how close a patient lives to the organ ("Ethical Principles," 2015). If justice was the only principle to consider then Mr. Smith would be the choice due to the significance of his medical
Criteria must be met to be placed on a waiting list for organ transplantation. A physician will give a patient a referral to a transplant hospital. The patient will choose a hospital based on individual needs. An appointment with a transplant team will determine whether the patient is a good candidate for organ transplant based on that hospital’s criteria ("What Factors ," n.d.) Two individuals that have been put on a wait list for cardiac transplantation will be discussed to show the importance of ethical decision making for organ allocation. Mr. Rodriquez is a 33-year-old man currently serving a 15-year sentence for robbery. He will be eligible for parole in five years and has been a model prisoner. He previously served 18 months for burglary …show more content…
Justice requires equal respect to each patient, but not necessarily treating them the same way. Priority is given to the sickest patient even if the other patient who is not as sick would have a better outcome. Principles of justice are medical urgency, finding another organ in the future, how long a person has been on the waiting list, if this is a first transplant, age, and how close a patient lives to the organ ("Ethical Principles," 2015). If justice was the only principle to consider then Mr. Smith would be the choice due to the significance of his medical