MME 101 Paper 4 : Ethics of the Sale of Body Parts - Essay Example

Consent in donation is determined by two main methods, namely, ‘opt in’ (those donors who have explicitly consented to being donors) and ‘opt out’ (those who have not refused to be donors). In the United States, over 100,000 people are in need of an organ transplant leading to a crisis. On an average scale, the United States performs 30,000 organ transplants per annum with lack of organ donor related deaths rating above 6,000 people per annum averaging to 19 people daily. Medical examiners through the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1987 were allowed to decide whether organs from cadavers would be harvested and used in transplants.

In the past, a reduction in the need for organs was believed to be achievable through presumed consent. New state laws are trying to ease the complexity of donation and many states in the United States are adopting them, as Rob Stein of the Washington Post is quoted: “State legislatures are rewriting legislation governing organ donations in one of the most ambitious initiatives in at least 20 years to alleviate the chronic shortage of kidneys, livers and other body parts, an effort that some doctors and ethicists fear tilts too far toward allowing organs to be taken” (Stein 2008). . Many body parts, tissues and organs can be donated.

A typical example is a heart transplant that can help those suffering heart failure including newborns. Liver transplants can treat different conditions like cirrhosis or liver cancer that lead to liver failure. A kidney transplant could be a recommendation for those diagnosed with chronic end stage renal diseases or otherwise known as severe kidney failure (Thaler 1). Lung transplants are aimed at restoring those with severe lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and emphysema can also occur.

Pancreatic transplants can be done to patient with insulin – dependent type I diabetes while intestine transplants are done on patients diagnosed with life threatening diseases of the intestine. Skin transplant also known as skin grafting can treat severe burns, extensive wounding and loss of skin through infection. Heart valve transplants are meant to treat malfunctioning valves caused by infections, birth defects and aging; and tendons that are recommended in patients without muscle function and due to injury of nerves or tendons being damaged.

Caplan and Coelho (100) reveal that before receiving an organ transplant, a recipient is placed on a waiting list of the United Network for Organ Sharing, but before getting the name on the list, a number of extensive tests are carried out with the recipient. This evaluation is carried out by the transplant team that includes a transplant surgeon, transplant hepatologist (a doctor specializing in liver treatment), transplant nurses, social worker, and a psychiatrist or psychologist. Additional members to the team may include a dietitian, a chaplain, and anesthesiologist.

The evaluations include: