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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper discusses some of the ethical considerations of organ transplantation. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVOrganT.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Diseases that once routinely killed thousands are a memory; life-threatening illnesses can be cured or managed; and its now possible to give a new organ to someone whose own body
is failing. But with these advances has come an ethical dilemma: is it always the best course of action to undertake a radical procedure, or are there
times when it might be better to undertake a less rigorous approach, or even do nothing? And how do we decide among these alternatives? Organ Transplant Procedures Today Organ
transplant procedures are relatively common today, but they still carry with them an extremely high risk of complications, including rejection of the new organs, massive infection, and death. However,
in many cases they are the only possible way to save a patients life. What we must ask ourselves, though, is whether or not they are always the best
option, even when failure to perform the transplant results in the patients death. Another layer of confusion is added by the fact that there is an organ shortage, making it
necessary to consider using live donors. However, organ donation is risky (healthy donors have died) and the controversy over the practice continues without resolution (Wright et al 409). Ethical
Considerations and Positions One commonly held ethical position is that espoused by utilitarians, whose ultimate champion is John Stuart Mill. Mill stated a very simple principle: that whatever
tended to promote happiness was right, and whatever promoted the opposite of happiness was wrong (John Stuart Mill). This is a fairly simplistic view of the world, and yet it
gives us a tool for making decisions of the type we face when were dealing with issues such as organ transplants. Today, "utilitarians believe in the distribution of health
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