Organ transplants : the ethics of donation

Abstract

There is perhaps no other medical technology which has changed our self-perception more than organ transplant technology. Now that the procedure has by and large passed the experimental stage and it is becoming increasingly safer to apply, patients requiring an organ replacement can justifiably hope for a longer and healthier life. Yet the promise which medical progress holds in this respect depends, in the circumstances, very much on human generosity. The core philosophical problem, relating to organ transplants, as I see it, originates precisely from a particular state of dependence in which a certain category of patents has been placed. These patients have no claim to anybody's organs. They can only wait until the organ or organs which they require is or are actually given. Yet is it not true that the greater the need the higher is the demand and the stronger is the claim for help! If people's needs play a crucial role in a theory of justice, one may find it hard to draw the dividing line between justice and generosity.