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Mikala Beesley
November 30, 2013
Medical anatomy/physiology
1-2A
Bioethics Research of Organ Donation
There are several ways that someone could describe organ donation. Organ donation
takes healthy organs and tissues from one person for transplantation into another (“Organ
donation,” 2013). Often tissue is donated after the person has died, but in some cases a living
person can donate organs and tissue for others. Any person can donate organs but if they are
under eighteen then they need parents’ permission before donating.
Organ donation has been around for a very long time. On December 23, 1954, Dr.
Joseph Murray and Dr. David Hume successfully transplanted a kidney from a living patient into
his twin brother. In 1962 Dr. Joseph Murray and Dr. David Hume successfully transplanted a
kidney from a deceased donor. In 1963 Dr. James Hardy successfully transplanted a lung. In
1966 Dr. Richard Lillehei and William Kelly successfully transplanted a pancreas/kidney. In
1967 Dr. Thomas Starzl successfully transplanted a liver. That same year Dr. Christiaan Barnard
successfully transplanted a heart. The transplants have become better and doctors have been able
to do more. Technology has made it so much easier to successfully do transplants. Organ
donation has come so far that in 2010 a full face transplant took place in Spain
(“Transplantation,” 2012) Thus we see organ donation growing.
Technology has come very far and has helped organ donation immensely. In 2004 the
invention of the life cradle made it so that organs could be preserved for up to 24 hours (Todd,
2008). This gave doctors a little bit of time to find recipients and make the transplant. In the early
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years of transplantation there was often the problem of the body rejecting the transplant, but in
recent years there haven’t been as many complications because of the advances in medications to
suppress the immune system. By using medicine, transplant patients are able to enjoy a longer
happier life (Cadena, 2007). Other technological advances include artificial organs. Doctors have
made artificial hearts for patients suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy. This condition keeps
the hearts left ventricle from contracting properly. Doctors have made battery-powered cardiac
assist devises to solve the problem. Another artificial organ is the larynx. It is inserted under the
jaw and it generates vibrations in the oral cavity (“Artificial organs: New,” 1999). This makes it
so people who have had their larynx removed can talk again. There are increasing options for
transplant patients and with years to come there will be even more.
There are, however, ethical issues associated with organ donation. “There is rule known
as the “Dead-Donor Rule” which states that vital organs should be taken only from persons who
are dead. Some people want to donate their organs, but in some cases there is too much time
between death and the retrieval of the organs for them to be used. “In another… case the family
of a man with devastating brain injury requested withdrawal of life support. The man had been a
strong advocate of organ donation, but he was not a candidate for any of the traditional
approaches. His family therefore sought permission for him to donate organs before death. To
comply with the “Dead-Donor Rule,” plans were made to remove only nonvital organs (a kidney
and a lobe of the liver) while he was under anesthesia and then take him back to the intensive
care unit, where life support would be withdrawn. Although the plan was endorsed by the
clinical team, the ethics committee, and the hospital administration, it was not honored because
multiple surgeons who were contacted refused to recover the organs: the rules of the United
Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) state that the patient must give direct consent for living
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donation, which this patient's neurologic injury rendered impossible. Consequently, he died
without the opportunity to donate. If there were no requirement to comply with the DDR, the
family would have been permitted to donate all the patient's vital organs” (Thruog, Miller &
Scott, 2013).” The concept of brain death causes some ethical issues as well. Patients meeting the
criteria for brain death were originally considered to be dead because they had lost “the
integrated functioning of the organism as a whole,” however, it has become clear that patients
diagnosed as brain dead have not lost this homeostatic balance but can maintain extensive
integrated functioning for years. Brain-dead patients are permanently unconscious and cannot
live without a ventilator; therefore recovery of their organs is considered acceptable if organ
donation is desired by the patient or by the surrogate on the patient's behalf” (Thruog, Miller &
Scott, 2013). Another problem is that the waiting lists are growing larger, and organ donations
become a matter of who is at the top of the list. Someone who has been waiting years and needs
an organ transplant may have to wait because they aren’t at the top of the list. On the flip side,
patients who are at the top of the list may not receive a transplant because the blood type isn’t
compatible with theirs. Consequently, the ethical issues sometimes make it hard to receive a
transplant.
In this case study” the brave toddler Erin Nicks became a transplant record setter just
weeks before her third birthday after surgeons at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital gave her a
new liver and a new life. Erin, now three, underwent a first liver transplant at the hospital in June
2005 when she was just eight-months-old after doctors diagnosed her as suffering with biliary
atresia, a condition which causes bile to build up in the organ. An infection caused her body to
reject the liver two years later, but her parents say she is doing well and has a future to look
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forward to thanks to her second transplant” (“Organ donation: Erin,” 2013). As a result, we see
that organ transplants can save lives!
The types of people most often impacted by organ donation are those that need
transplants or those who are donating their organs, but everyone can be impacted by organ
donation. Any person could be an organ donor, and there are a variety of diseases that cause
someone to need an organ transplant. Some diseases are congenital and some aren’t. The
frequency that organ donation occurs is daily. People need organs daily, and people die daily and
have the opportunity to give their organs to people in need. The most prominent individuals are
the ones that are giving and receiving organs. On a scale of 1-10 of the severity of organ
donation, I would think, is a 7-8. There are a lot of people that need organs to survive. People die
every day waiting to get an organ. People that receive transplants are so grateful because they get
to enjoy life with their families. Some people wait years before ever getting a transplant. Yet,
there are very few people that are willing to give their organs to others. There are some people
that are willing and never get the chance because of laws and still other people who cannot give
their organs because of the amount of time they have been deceased. Therefore, the issue of
organ donation is increasing.
The pros of organ donation are that people with illnesses can survive. If that happened in
every case of organ transplantation, then there wouldn’t be a long waiting list, families would be
happier, and hospitals would have pride in their work. Babies suffering from organ diseases
could be sent home with their parents more often and be free from illness. There wouldn’t be as
many sick people waiting for transplants. There would be a hope for everyone that needed a
transplant, not doubt. I think the world, altogether, would be a much happier place. Those are
things that could happen if the pros of organ donation happened in every case.
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The cons of organ donation, is that the body might reject the transplant or that the person
might need another transplant later on. If this was the way that all transplants went then it would
be very similar to how things are now. People don't always have the most hope in organ
donation. No one would get better from their illnesses, no medical treatment would work, and
families would be very sad from their losses. I think eventually people would stop seeking
medical treatments and spend time with their loved ones before they die. The world would be a
sadder place, with no hope for organ transplants. Those are some things that could happen if the
cons of organ donation happened all the time.
Organ donation is an amazing opportunity to help others live and be with their families.
You can help so many people and they are so grateful for the donation. Organ donation saves
lives, and the memories of those that died, will live on forever. There have been so many
advances in organ donation and there will be more to come. So many lives will be saved by those
medical advances. Thus, even with all the ethical issues involved, becoming an organ donator
could help someone else live.