Policies that guide the distribution or allocation of organs have always been controversial. Please read the articles below and discuss how organs should be allocated and why?
Ethics of Organ Transplants (About.com summary)
The Waiting Game (PBS)
Distributing Donor Organs (PBS)
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
About Organ Allocation (Transplant Living)
Organ Allocation Issues (Miracosta College)
Controversies in Organ Donation (Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation Journal)
Infant Heart Transplant Controversy (US News)
Human Organs for Sale (New Internationalist)
Do US Hospitals Push Organ Black Market (CBS News)
So What About Mickey Mantle (Wordpress Donate Life Blog)
Natalie Cole Kidney came From Deceased Fan (CNN)
Jobs Travel to Transplant Mecca Shows System Flaws (Bloomberg)
Britain to Outlaw Most Private Organ Donations (Yahoo! News)
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If someone is an organ donor, I feel the donor should have a choice on who gets their organs. If the donors family members, friends, friends of friends, coworker etc. needs an organ they should be able to get preference. Why should a organ have to go to a complete stranger when there might be a recipient that needs the organ living in the same city and you’ve that known /seen that person for years? Etc. I can truly understand why a donor would not want to give healthy organs to someone who has abused theirs. There is a high possibility the recipient would ruin the donated organ. I don’t think the donor’s choice should be based on race, gender, religion. If the donor does not have a designated recipient then the organs should continue to be distributed as they are today. I think there should be one recipient list; it should be on a first come first serve basis. I also think that whichever person needs that organ, that patient healthcare provider should pay the personnel to get it there. No organ should be discarded as bio waste, especially then there is a shortage. What bothers me is when doctors prepare to prepare to preserve organ before the patient is deceased. Organ donation is huge decision and the person should be given the upmost respect.
I think organs should be distriputed to people who have no control over the cause of their failing major organ. The people who have been careless and cause their own major organ failing should come secondary and the ones who want organ transplants because they can afford it and want another 5 to 10 years added on to their life should be last.
The organ donors should have a choice of who can use their organs such as if they don't want a person who drank everyday and ruined their liver to have the organ. If the organ donor has someone they want to give their organ to and the persons a match they should be aloud to have that choice and if ther person can't use the organ then the next person up should be able to receive the organ.
The thing with the states that get an organ and don't have anyone on their list waiting for the organ shoul then send the organ to another state that could use the oragan or maybe they both have organs they don't need maybe they could exchange it another state that may have what they need.
The organ donor should also be treated with respect and the only time their organs should come into to play is when the person is deceased or a live organ donor other than that they should get the same life saving treatment that a non organ donor would receive not for the doctors to do less cause we need that organ and there is a shortage.
maybe if they could comfort more people with the organ donor thing as far as people being scared that everything won't be done to save their lives in a emergency situation there might be a lot more people willing to donate in the event they loose their life or being a live organ donor.
Organ allocation is a controversial topic that encompasses both medical autonomy as well as the needs of society. Everyday there are more individuals placed on transplant lists than organs available. Because there is such a tremendous need for viable organs there needs to be tighter guidelines governing allocation. First of all, there must be both a state and national database, which lists every person willing or not willing to be a donor. For instance, as men are required to register for the military draft, every citizen should be required to register for donation; those names would be compiled in the two databases. Also, once you have registered family or surrogate upon death cannot overturn the choice, the individual’s choice is final. Individuals waiting for transplant should be prioritized according to health status. Those who are at immediate risk of death without donation should be priority, individuals who have no other underlying diseases that would complicate or interfere with successful transplantation. Individuals with a lesser outcome of returning to a normal life would be placed after patients with better outcomes, also individuals with history of alcohol or drug abuse must show sobriety for a minimum of 5 years. Most individuals with 5 or more years of sustaining sobriety have a greater likelihood of remaining sober and not threatening transplant efforts. Private and live donation should be allowed to continue as is with individuals choosing to donate can have ultimate choice in who receives their donation. For states who do not have matching recipients the organ must immediately be matched thru a national system and go to another state should time allow for viability, the cost of travel would be paid for by the recipient’s insurer or by the receiving state. Finally, individuals traveling from other countries will be given last consideration after those present here in the states have been matched and disqualified and efforts have failed in their country of origin. Organ availability could increase if the donor has the final say, an agreement with the government, the choice to donate or not donate. I believe all to often donation is not possible because families intervene and choose against the final wishes of their loved ones, ultimately denying an individual need and denying the greater good.
If life were fair,nobody would really need an organ transplant.But truth be told,receiving an organ transplant is like a receiving a second chance at life,and kudos to those few special people who choose to give a living gift,the gift of life.
I believe that organ distribution should be made a fair game.it should not matter if you’re rich or
famous. The sickest and the best match should get the next available organ. But it does get out of hand sometimes,people stop playing fair and in such cases,the poor people always loose the fight and that means death comes too soon.
If the government is not involved directly on organ allocations,it should then regulate how these organs are allocated to ensure fairness.Organs should be allocated first on the bases of medical necessity and best possible match.The sickest candidate across the nation should be allowed to receive the organ if he/she is the best match.Race,gender,religion,social economic status and personal or behavioral history should not be taken into account for organ allocation.There should be one national waiting list for candidates with organ needs.There should also be one computerized matching system to ensure that all candidates are matched and ranked accordingly.
Live donors and families of deceased donors should be given the right to choose who receives their organs.Its their body and donating is a voluntary deed,so if they say that they don't wish to donate their organ to a drug dealer or a murderer,then their wishes should be respected and their organ should go the next best match on the list.
Doctors and transplanting surgeons should exercise fairness to ensure that the people who really need these organs receive them.It doesn't make sense to transplant a kidney to a patient knowing that their survival rate is second to none while there is another candidate out their who is also a match with a much higher survival rate.Surgeons and transplant centers across the nation should exercise moral and ethical judgments to ensure that qualities such as a candidates' social economic status does not influence their favoritism.
The government should track and prosecute all illegal and black market transplants.Organ trade and selling should be condemned at all levels.
Organ donation and allocation should be for the purpose of saving lives and all who are involved should take it as such.There need to be better policies and regulations to ensure that the people who really need the organs are the ones who receive them.
Organ allocation is a sensitive subject that is the subject of national debate.An issue is whether organs should be allocated to individuals who have brought on their sickness by poor choices with personal health. A donor that gives his organs to a sick patient that caused his own illness such as an alcoholic is in my eyes not having his donation allocated to the best possible candidate, although the recipient may be arbitrarily higher on a list their rights don't outweigh those of the patient that by no actions of their own caused their sickness. A donor however should not be able to choose who receives their organ unless it is a live person donation yet their decision should not be biased to race, gender, and ethnicity. The responsibility of donation allocation after death and live donation should be placed with the federal government. A national donor list should be created in which organs are able to be escorted anywhere (time withstanding)in the country without the red tape that is in place with today's system which is handed state by state. In today's environment each state controls their own organ pool. A large state equates to a more organs. An individual that has a rare blood type is far less likely to receive an organ from their state with a national list these few would have more likely hood of receiving an organ. Also as I read I couldn't believe the waste that occurs because financially hospitals cannot afford to escort organs to a deserving recipient in another state. The lack of finances should not be a death sentence for an individual waiting on the list for an organ. There are waits as high as up to 400 days for kidneys. Imagine with a universal federal system the countless lives that can be saved with common sense and compassion. Although every one can't receive an organ federal intervention may improve the overall number of recipients of organs.
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