Document Detail


Organ transplants, foreign nationals, and the free rider problem.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  1492347     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
There is strong sentiment for a policy which would exclude foreigners from access to organs from American cadaver donors. One common argument is that foreigners are 'free riders'; since they are not members of the community which gives organs, it would be unfair to allow them to receive such a scare resource. This essay examines the philosophical basis for the free rider argument, and compares that with the empirical data about organ donation in the U.S. The free rider argument ought not to be used to exclude foreign nationals because it is based on fallacious assumptions about group membership, and how the 'giving community' is defined. Polls show that even among the seventy-five per cent of Americans who support organ donation, only seventeen per cent had taken the small step of filling out donor cards. Therefore, it goes against logic to define the giving community as coextensive with American residency, while excluding foreigners who might well have become donors had they lived in countries which provided that option.
Authors:
D S Davis
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Theoretical medicine     Volume:  13     ISSN:  0167-9902     ISO Abbreviation:  Theor Med     Publication Date:  1992 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1993-02-26     Completed Date:  1993-02-26     Revised Date:  2004-11-18    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8405140     Medline TA:  Theor Med     Country:  NETHERLANDS    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  337-47     Citation Subset:  E; IM    
Affiliation:
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, OH 44115.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Emigration and Immigration*
Health Care Rationing
Health Services Accessibility*
Human Body
Humans
Internationality
Organ Transplantation*
Patient Selection*
Resource Allocation*
Social Justice
Tissue and Organ Procurement*
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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