| Opt-out organ donation without presumptions. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 21828226 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
This paper defends an 'opt-out' scheme for organ procurement, by distinguishing this system from 'presumed consent' (which the author regards as an erroneous justification of it). It, first, stresses the moral importance of increasing the supply of organs and argues that making donation easier need not conflict with altruism. It then goes on to explore one way that donation can be increased, namely by adopting an opt-out system, in which cadaveric organs are used unless the deceased (or their family) registered an objection. Such policies are often labelled 'presumed consent', but it is argued that critics are right to be sceptical of this idea-consent is shown to be an action, rather than a mental attitude, and thus not something that can be presumed. Either someone has consented or they have not, whatever their attitude to the use of their organs. Thankfully, an opt-out scheme need not rest on the presumption of consent. Actual consent can be given implicitly, by one's actions, so it is argued that the failure to register an objection (given certain background conditions) should itself be taken as sign of consent. Therefore, it is permissible to use the organs of someone who did not opt out, because they have-by their silence-actually consented. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Ben Saunders |
Related Documents
:
|
22188646 - Data sharing: not as simple as it seems. 12609206 - Stem cell grafting for epilepsy: clinical promise and ethical concerns. 11650946 - Fetal neural transplantation: placing the ethical debate within the context of society'... 6096036 - The current status of human monkeypox: memorandum from a who meeting. 3944576 - The dichotomy of the expert witness. 1301426 - A concept of holistic ethics for the health professional. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-8-9 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Journal of medical ethics Volume: - ISSN: 1473-4257 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Aug |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2011-8-10 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7513619 Medline TA: J Med Ethics Country: - |
Other Details:
|
Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: A partnership model for implementing electronic health records in resource-limited primary care sett...
Next Document: A new and accurate way to identify elite athletes.