Ethical dilemma:
Consent & organ donations – implied or explicit?
May 2004
You are the Minister for Health and are currently faced with a major shortage of organ donations in your country.
This results in many deaths, including of young children, which could easily be prevented if organ donation was more widespread.
A delegation from a peak medical body is lobbying you to put forward a change in the law to help increase the supply of donor organs for transplants.
At present a person must positively indicate that he or she is willing to donate organs. The new proposal is that each person be assumed to be willing to donate their organs unless they have specifically stated otherwise.
Ethical questions:
- What are the issues?
- Who are the stakeholders?
- What should you do?
- What would you do?
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